Damac secures capacity worth $12bn for US AI data centres

• Chairman says projects amount to 1GW
• Damac plans to invest $20bn in US
• Hussain Sajwani makes remarks at Davos

Damac Properties has secured land and power capacity in the US equivalent to $12 billion of a planned $20 billion outlay in AI data centre infrastructure.

Hussain Sajwani, the UAE-based conglomerate’s chairman, said projects identified to date amount to about 1 gigawatt of capacity. This puts the group, he said, “more than halfway” towards its US investment target.

Speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sajwani said his company’s investment was moving at pace. 

“We have today about 1GW of land, which, if you translate into total investment, would be about $12 billion,” he said, adding that it would take “two to four years” to reach the originally announced $20 billion figure.

A gigawatt refers to the amount of electrical power that can be supported by the land acquired – a critical constraint for data centres used for AI and cloud computing, which require vast and reliable electricity supply.

Sajwani’s comments are an update on a plan unveiled in early 2025, when he appeared alongside US President Donald Trump to announce that Damac would invest “at least” $20 billion in US data centres through its digital infrastructure arm, Edgnex.

At the time, Trump lavishly praised Sajwani’s involvement, calling it “an honour” and saying the commitment would help “keep America on the cutting edge of technology and artificial intelligence”.

He added that Sajwani could “go double, or even somewhat more than double” the initial $20 billion pledged, though Damac said any additional investment would be based on market conditions.

In Davos, Sajwani revealed that Damac has already acquired land in Ohio and New Jersey and is evaluating further sites in Texas, focusing on locations with strong infrastructure and rising demand.

Further reading:

• Trump reveals $20bn from Sajwani for US data centres
• Damac data centre unit Edgnex signs $2bn Jakarta deal
• Damac to spend $3bn on data centres in Southeast Asia

“Data centres are about power,” he said, describing electricity availability as the key factor shaping where projects can be developed.

Sajwani said the US remains by far the world’s largest data centre market, describing it as around 10 times bigger than any other region, driven by the rapid expansion of AI and cloud computing workloads.

Despite uncertainty around trade policy, tariffs and geopolitical tensions, he said his company remains confident in the US economy and its investment climate, pointing to its scale, resilience and efforts to encourage business investment.

The US push follows Edgnex’s separate $3 billion commitment to data centres in Southeast Asia, as Damac continues to expand beyond its traditional real estate roots into AI-driven digital infrastructure.

The Damac and Trump brands have a history of working together in the UAE. At the end of 2024 the developer secured the rights to build a new Trump Tower in Abu Dhabi.