The United Arab Emirates is reviewing plans for a 5 gigawatt artificial intelligence data center project in Abu Dhabi after the Iran war raised concerns over the security of critical infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter.
The project was originally planned as a 26 square kilometre campus but could now be divided among several locations across the UAE. Authorities are also considering underground facilities, stronger air defenses and other measures to protect the sites from drone and missile attacks.
The project, led by UAE based AI company G42 with US technology partners, is central to the country’s ambition to become a global AI hub and reduce its dependence on oil.
The first phase, known as Stargate UAE, involves a $30 billion, 1 gigawatt computing cluster and is expected to continue, although additional security measures could be introduced.
The review follows attacks on US linked infrastructure in the Gulf. Two Amazon Web Services data centers in the UAE were damaged in March, while Iran later warned that Stargate UAE could also be targeted.
Officials are considering blast resistant construction, backup power and cooling systems, electronic jamming equipment and missile and drone interceptors. Some facilities holding highly sensitive data could also be built underground or inside mountain areas.
G42 said the project was progressing as planned while noting that its design is continuously reviewed to meet security and resilience requirements.
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