President-elect Donald Trump announced that Dubai-based real estate firm Damac plans to invest $20 billion into building data centers in the US. The announcement was made at Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, alongside Damac founder and chairman Hussain Sajwani. The investment will target a total capacity of 2000MW over the next four years, with potential future expansions depending on demand and market opportunities.
Damac confirmed that the expansion will primarily focus on sunbelt states such as Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, as well as midwest states like Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. “The first phase includes capacity build-up through joint ventures with partners, acquiring land banks in conjunction with utilities, and acquiring existing data centers and platforms,” Damac detailed.
Dubai-focused U.S. data center investments
This initial stage will establish approximately 500MW capacity, with one facility in the Sunbelt and one in the Midwest, to meet growing demand. Sajwani expressed that Trump’s election motivated him to commit to this substantial investment. “It’s been amazing news for me and my family when [Trump] was elected in November.
We’ve been waiting four years to increase our investment in the U.S. to very large amounts of money,” the Dubai developer said during brief remarks at Mar-a-Lago. Trump attributed the company’s decision to his election victory, stating, “He’s doing it because of the fact that he was very inspired by the election.” The President-elect also pledged expedited environmental permits and other processes for companies investing $1 billion or more in the U.S.
This strategic investment marks a significant step for Damac as it seeks to expand its footprint in the digital infrastructure space, capitalizing on the growing demand for data centers. Sajwani’s commitment is part of a pattern of foreign business leaders promising significant investments in the U.S. following Trump’s election victory over the Democratic Vice President.