DAMAC Investment: Why Trump is Building New US Data Centres
President-elect Donald Trump has announced a US$20bn investment to build new data centres across the US.
This amount has been pledged by Hussain Sajwani, an associate of Donald Trump and founder of the property development giant DAMAC Properties. Trump said that the founder is pledging “at least” that amount and that “they may go double, or even somewhat more than double, that amount of money”.
In a follow-up press release published 8th January 2025, the Dubai-headquartered global infrastructure company EDGNEX Data Centers by DAMAC announced its strategic entry into the US data centre market.
This signifies a transformative phase in its international expansion, as it plans to deliver state-of-the-art data centres targeting 2,000 megawatt (MW), or two-gigawatt (2GW) capacity over the next four years.
EDGNEX has also announced potential plans of doubling this investment on the basis of future demand, market opportunity and scalability.
Advancing hyperscale opportunities
This endeavour is aligned with EDGNEX’s commitment to building world-class digital infrastructure platforms that target hyperscalers, AI players and Fortune 500 companies alike. The company states that it remains committed to “fostering innovation and delivering sustainable, high-quality infrastructure that powers customers in the US and around the globe”.
Such a significant expansion plan by EDGNEX will focus on so-called ‘sunbelt states’ in the US, specifically Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma and Louisiana, in addition to midwest states like Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana.
DAMAC Properties has been involved with Donald Trump for some time, with the company owning the Middle East's only Trump-branded golf course in Dubai, which first opened in 2017.
Hussain Sajwani suggested that the Republican’s election spurred him to commit to the investment.
“This is an extremely exciting moment for us. Our foray into the US market in data centres represents a significant milestone in our journey to build a global digital infrastructure platform that will empower businesses today and in the future,” he explains.
“Leveraging our expertise in real estate and data centres, we aim to deliver best-in-class infrastructure that supports the next wave of cloud and AI growth, helping further to position the U.S. in the technology and global data ecosystem.”
Confronting growing AI demands
DAMAC’s pledge is the latest example of an international business leader promising to invest heavily in the US in the wake of Donald Trump winning the November 2024 US Election over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
In December 2024, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son announced plans to invest US$100bn in the country, thereby creating 100,000 jobs over the course of Trump’s four-year term.
Set to take office on 20th January 2025, Donald Trump has been eager to attract international business in the US by offering benefits such as expedited permits for those that invest US$1bn or more.
As his second Presidential victory was driven by public concern about the US economy, Trump is starting to lock in investments and propose higher tariffs on goods from the People’s Republic of China. This is timely, given the US is already restricting China’s access to chips needed for advanced data centres.
Ultimately, AI progress is not slowing down. As data centres enter even further into the public consciousness in 2025, anxieties remain over whether they will put even greater pressures on electricity grids, particularly as AI demand continues to surge.
Tech giant Microsoft has already declared a US$80bn spend this fiscal year to ramp up its AI capacity.
As far as EDGNEX is concerned, it plans to leverage DAMAC’s equity, bank debt, and potential third-party capital to fuel expansion in the US.
The first phase of its investment plan includes capacity build-up through joint ventures with partners, acquiring land banks in conjunction with utilities, and acquiring existing data centres and platforms. It will represent approximately 500MW capacity—one in the Sunbelt and one in the Midwest. This will meet the growing current demand as EDGNEX continues to scale.
In other ventures, DAMAC is also significantly interested in US real estate, having already invested via several private equity funds.
Hussain Sajwani states: “In Miami, DAMAC is planning a boutique condo project designed by Zaha Hadid Architects with a US$1bn development value. DAMAC continues to look for strategic real estate opportunities in the US.”
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