Khazaen Data Center has announced plans to develop a carrier-neutral AI data center campus in Barka, northern Oman, marking a significant addition to the Gulf region's fast-expanding digital infrastructure landscape. The project, named Khazaen Data Campus (KDC), is designed to support enterprise colocation, high-density computing, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing workloads, and reflects Oman's broader push to diversify its economy away from oil dependence under its Vision 2040 national strategy.
The campus will occupy a 592,000 square foot (55,000 square meter) site within the Khazaen Economic City area of the coastal city. While the current design provides for up to 45MW of capacity, the facility is being engineered to accommodate a longer-term capacity of up to 100MW, giving it room to scale as demand for AI and hyperscale computing accelerates across the Middle East. The project is being developed in eight phases and is currently progressing through design and approvals, with the developer targeting initial operations in the second quarter of 2028.
KDC will focus on serving international customers across Europe, North America, and India while simultaneously building out digital infrastructure capabilities within Oman and the wider Gulf region. Dr Aadil Alexander, KDC's project sponsor, framed the development as a strategic leap for the region, stating that the campus represents a massive, long-term leap forward for digital infrastructure in the Middle East and is strategically positioned to support Oman's digital economy and serve as a vital connectivity gateway for the wider region. He added that the focus is not simply on building standard real estate but on creating an enterprise-grade, hyperscale-ready ecosystem designed to meet the rigorous power, latency, and scalability requirements of global operators.
The announcement comes amid a broader wave of digital infrastructure investment in Oman. Data Center Map currently lists 15 data centers in the country, including two operated by global digital infrastructure company Equinix in Muscat and Salalah. Earlier this year, five companies from Oman, the UAE, and Italy signed an agreement to develop a 150MW hyperscale AI data center in the country, and Oman has also signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with Algeria to establish data centers and advance AI and digital government initiatives. The KDC project underscores the sultanate's ambition to position itself as a regional connectivity and computing hub, and adds momentum to a Middle East data center market that is attracting increasing attention from global operators and investors.