This Week's Top 5 Stories in the Data Centre Industry

Khazna Secures Uptime Tier III Certification for 100MW Site

Khazna Data Centers (Khazna) has achieved Uptime Institute Tier III Certification of Design Documents for its newest AI-optimised facility in Ajman, marking a significant step in the expansion of high-density digital infrastructure in the UAE.

The 100MW site, known as QAJ01, is set to become the first certified AI data centre with liquid cooling in the Middle East and North Africa region. Designed to support next-generation AI training and inference, the development reflects growing demand for specialised facilities capable of handling high rack densities and thermal loads.

Uptime Institute’s Tier Certification of Design Documents validates that the facility’s plans meet the requirements of its Tier Standard for Topology. It confirms that once constructed, the data centre can achieve the targeted levels of performance and resilience associated with Tier III classification. Read more... 

Why AECOM Calls for Sovereign UK Data Centre Framework

AECOM, a global infrastructure leader, is calling for a sovereign data centre framework to be established by the UK, as global investment in data centres accelerates.

It comes as the rapid growth of AI is becoming embedded across public services and questions around the data centres that hold sensitive data, with concerns the UK may fall behind.

Opening the report, the Vice President of AECOM, Adrian Del Maestro, explains how the UK faces a “clear choice” on whether it will benefit from data centre growth or sees other regions increase investment in AI. Read more... 

Why Community is Key in Amazon’s US$12bn Data Centre Plan

Amazon has announced plans to invest US$12bn in northwest Louisiana to develop its first data centre campuses in the state, expanding its US cloud and AI infrastructure footprint.

The multi-site development across Caddo and Bossier Parishes will support Amazon Web Services cloud computing technologies and AI workloads. The company says the project will create 540 full-time data centre roles and support a further 1,710 full-time equivalent positions in the wider community.

Roles will include electricians, HVAC technicians, project engineers, network specialists, operations managers and security specialists, reflecting the scale and technical complexity of hyperscale campus operations. Read more... 

How Equinix's Energy Facility Will Create 200 Skilled Jobs

Equinix is committing up to US$700m to a new 150,000²-foot Hanley Energy facility in Dundalk, Co. Louth, creating an initial 200 skilled roles for engineers and technicians.

The production of critical power equipment is vital for next-generation data centres worldwide, which will accelerate following the facility's construction.

Equinix has structured an initial five-year agreement with a minimum of US$70m annually.

The new energy facility will act as a global manufacturing hub for specialised power equipment vital to Equinix’s high-performance and AI-driven data centre workloads. Read more... 

Digital Realty Expands Global AI Innovation Lab Network

Digital Realty is expanding its Innovation Lab network into Singapore, Japan and London, providing new environments for enterprises to test AI and hybrid cloud infrastructure before full-scale rollout.

The move marks the first extension of the Digital Realty Innovation Lab programme beyond the US, following the launch of its Northern Virginia facility in September 2025. The new sites in Asia Pacific and Europe are all expected to be operational this year.

Each location will offer customers and partners access to real-world testing environments within operational data centres. Organisations can bring their own workloads or use pre-configured infrastructure to validate performance, power and connectivity requirements prior to production deployment. Read more...