Saudi Arabia plans major data center expansion: MIS CEO

Abdullah Al Ghamdi, CEO of Al Moammar Information Systems Co. (MIS)

Al Moammar Information Systems Co. (MIS) CEO Abdullah Al Ghamdi said that Saudi Arabia is poised for significant data center expansion, with plans to exceed 1,000 megawatts (MW) over the next five years.

The current capacity stands at approximately 250-300 megawatts in the Kingdom.

In a phone interview with Argaam, Al Ghamdi expected the company to exceed the planned initial capacity of 120 MW in a shorter timeframe than anticipated, due to strong demand and rapid growth in the market from global companies.

He explained that MIS is keeping pace with the rapid development in the field of technology and cloud computing, addressing the high demand in the local market for services that support this development in light of Saudi Vision 2030 and the influx of international cloud companies.

AlGhamdi also indicated that the Saudi Data Center Fund 1 focusses on its primary goal of providing a capacity of up to 120 MW, with 32 MW already implemented. The fund, valued at SAR 1.5 billion, has allocated nearly SAR 1.3 billion to projects so far. Work is underway to expand capacity to 96 MW with an estimated investment of SAR 2-2.5 billion.

He further stated that the fund intends to secure a significant share in the data center market, as it is the largest player in the carrier-neutral data center segment. Since the fund is independent of any telecommunications operator, it provides clients greater freedom of choice.

The CEO pointed out that MIS will receive 7% net returns from the signed contracts, and additional undisclosed profits resulting from implementation and development.

The company is keeping pace with the market demands for various artificial intelligence (AI) services, including generative AI, by providing the appropriate infrastructure for these technologies.

Al Ghamdi said that a study on leasing high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, utilizing the latest graphics processing units (GPU), is expected to be completed within the next few weeks, with plans to launch the service by 2025.

Furthermore, Al Ghamdi explained that data centers provide a dedicated environment for public cloud applications by creating an infrastructure for servers, storage devices and networks. In addition, it provides specialized HPC services, enabling the end user to conduct training operations for their business models, and providing generative AI services through flexible leasing options based on their needs.

Speaking on the company’s new business deals, Al Ghamdi stated that the value of new contracts and deals reached SAR 2.1 billion, expecting a further growth in the upcoming period, The company has recently signed a letter of intent (LOI) and leasing contracts with US tech giant Microsoft.

According to the data available on Argaam, MIS recently signed a LOI with Saudi Fransi Capital on behalf of the Saudi Data Center Fund 1, aiming to increase the capacity of data centers by 64 MW, with an estimated value ranging between SAR 1.95-2.5 billion, including value-added tax (VAT).

In July 2021, the company signed agreements to develop, design and manage facilities for data centers with Saudi Fransi Capital.