Oman Plans 45MW AI Data Center Campus, With 100MW Headroom

Khazaen Data Center has announced plans for a carrier-neutral AI data center campus in Barka, northern Oman, with an initial capacity of 45MW and a longer-term design envelope of 100MW.

The Khazaen Data Campus (KDC) will occupy a 592,000 sq ft (55,000 sqm) site in the Khazaen Economic City area of the coastal city. The facility will support enterprise colocation, high-density computing, AI, and high-performance computing workloads.

What is being built, and when?

The current design includes up to 45MW of capacity. However, the developer is building the site to accommodate up to 100MW in the long term. The project will be developed in eight phases.

It is currently going through design and approvals. Khazaen Data Center has set an initial operational target of Q2 2028.

The campus will target international customers in Europe, North America, and India. At the same time, the developer says it wants to build digital infrastructure capabilities inside Oman and the wider Gulf region.

What does the sponsor say?

Dr Aadil Alexander, KDC's project sponsor, framed the project as a regional infrastructure play rather than a standard property development.

"Khazaen Data Campus represents a massive, long-term leap forward for digital infrastructure in the Middle East, strategically positioned to support Oman's digital economy and serve as a vital connectivity gateway for the wider region," Alexander said.

He added: "Our focus is not simply on building standard real estate; we are creating an enterprise-grade, hyperscale-ready ecosystem designed to meet the rigorous power, latency, and scalability requirements of global operators."

Why Oman, and why now?

The announcement fits a broader pattern. Oman is expanding its digital infrastructure as the sultanate works to reduce its reliance on oil under its Vision 2040 national strategy.

The market remains small by global standards. Data Center Map currently lists 15 data centers in Oman. Two of them belong to global digital infrastructure company Equinix, located in Muscat and Salalah.

Larger projects are also moving. Earlier this year, five companies from the Sultanate, the UAE, and Italy signed an agreement to develop a 150MW hyperscale AI data center in the country.

Oman has also signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with Algeria. That deal covers establishing data centers and developing AI and digital government initiatives.

What does this change for operators?

For colocation and AI workloads, the project adds a new Gulf option with hyperscale-ready specifications and carrier-neutral connectivity. The 100MW design ceiling gives operators room to scale beyond the initial 45MW without relocating.

The 2028 target date puts KDC behind the current wave of capacity coming online in larger Gulf markets. Operators needing capacity sooner will still look elsewhere.

For Oman, the project deepens a small but growing market. Fifteen existing facilities, an Equinix presence, a planned 150MW hyperscale site, and the Algeria cooperation agreement together signal an infrastructure build-out aligned with Vision 2040.

The next milestone to watch is design approval. Until then, the Q2 2028 operational target remains a plan, not a construction date.