Saudi Call, an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provider from Saudi Arabia, has announced ambitious plans to build data centers across the middle eastern kingdom, in association with two Chinese companies.
Saudi Call has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shanghai Lumaotong Group (LMT) and China Mobile International Ltd. (CMI) to build Tier 3 and 4 data centers of 100 MW capacity in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and the smart city of NEOM.
These facilities will provide integrated solutions including storage, network coverage, and database services. The data centers will be part of Saudi Vision 2030, and also Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Program that aims to digitize government services as well as other private sector businesses and services. The ambitious project is also expected to be a shot in the arm for the region’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Arizton Advisory and Investments estimated Saudi Arabia’s data center market to be worth USD 1.3 billion in 2022, and expects it to grow to USD 2.08 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 7.98 percent. At present, there are over 20 operational colocation data centers in Saudi Arabia, with Riyadh being the largest hub. Huawei, Oracle and Microsoft, have already announced plans to build cloud regions in Saudi Arabia.
