Saudi Arabia to build world’s largest government data centre in $2.7 billion digital infrastructure drive

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has officially launched an ambitious $2.7 billion (Dh9.9 billion) digital infrastructure initiative with the announcement of the Hexagon Data Centre, set to be the world’s largest government data centre and a cornerstone project of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

Classified as Tier IV, the highest international standard for reliability, the Hexagon facility is designed to support the rapid expansion of digital services across the public sector and accelerate Saudi Arabia’s shift towards a data‑driven economy. 

The project is part of Riyadh’s commitment to securing technical sovereignty over its national data while boosting economic diversification beyond oil.

The centre will deploy advanced technologies to support vital sectors of development, at a time when data has emerged as a primary engine of economic and social transformation globally. 

Situated in Riyadh with a total footprint exceeding 30 million square feet and a capacity of 480 megawatts, Hexagon is expected to establish Saudi Arabia as a global hub for cutting‑edge digital infrastructure.

The initiative is aligned with the strategic objectives of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA )and the Vision 2030 reform agenda, under the leadership of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. It comes as the Kingdom is already ranked first globally on several measures, including government strategy in the Global AI Index.

Data centres have evolved dramatically since their origins in the 1950s, when they were large, climate‑controlled rooms housing early supercomputers. 

Their importance grew with the rise of the internet in the late 1990s and expanded further after the advent of cloud computing in the mid‑2000s. By 2020, governments around the world were prioritising data infrastructure, a trend intensified by the surge in demand for processing power brought about by generative artificial intelligence.

Since its establishment in 2019, SDAIA has been at the forefront of the Kingdom’s national data and AI agenda. The authority oversees data governance, big data, artificial intelligence development and regulation, positioning Saudi Arabia as a major player in the global digital economy and a regional destination for international technology investment.

Under SDAIA’s support, the Kingdom has built the region’s most advanced integrated data ecosystem, delivering innovative digital products with significant economic and social impact. 

The authority has also enacted a comprehensive legislative and regulatory framework, including the Personal Data Protection Law, standards for generative AI, an AI adoption framework, and global best practices to safeguard privacy and data integrity.

The Hexagon Data Centre will provide the foundation for a nationwide network of interconnected facilities, part of SDAIA’s strategic expansion to meet growing demand for national digital infrastructure services while ensuring systems remain operational with maximum availability.

The authority’s strategy anticipates a cumulative economic impact exceeding 10 billion Saudi riyals ($2.67bn) from the network, alongside annual financial savings of more than 1.8 billion riyals ($480m). These gains are expected to support non‑oil economic growth and enhance quality of life by advancing digital maturity across government services.

Engineered to world-class specifications, the Hexagon Data Centre incorporates advanced energy‑efficiency and smart cooling technologies, including direct liquid cooling and hybrid cooling systems, to reduce its power usage effectiveness. Renewable energy sources are integrated into its operations, contributing to its classification as one of the world’s largest green data centres, certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold standard.

The facility has also achieved international accreditation under the TIA‑942 engineering standard, a leading benchmark for data centre design and infrastructure resilience. It has received Tier IV certification, ensuring 99.995 per cent operational availability, and ISO/IEC 22237 certification for environmental and technical risk protection.

The project will reduce carbon emissions by approximately 30,000 tonnes a year, host more than 290 government systems, and serve as a critical platform for AI and digital adoption across Saudi Arabia’s public and private sectors.

Saudi Arabia’s efforts extend beyond technical infrastructure to include initiatives such as Humain, a newly established company backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and oil giant Aramco. 

Founded to support the Kingdom’s ambitions in artificial intelligence, Humain aims to position Saudi Arabia among the top three nations globally in AI infrastructure, alongside the United States and China.