The United Arab Emirates is quietly revising plans for a roughly 5-gigawatt AI data-center project, one of the biggest outside the U.S., after the Iran war prompted a rethink of how and where critical infrastructure is built, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sep 11.
The original blueprint was a single about 10-square-mile Abu Dhabi campus. The redesign is now likely a network of data centers spread through the UAE, with air defenses, possible underground builds, blast-resistant concrete, and backup power and cooling, sources said. Any new masterplan, outlay, and timeline impact are not finalized.
The first phase continues: the $30 billion, 1 GW Stargate UAE cluster already under construction, with first 200 MW due online this year, is expected to proceed as planned with some aerial-protection modifications; the rest of the project is likely dispersed. G42 said work is progressing as planned. This is a redesign, not a cancellation.
Sources: Reuters exclusive / Alexander Cornwell (Sep 11; 5 GW revise; six sources; disperse network; first phase $30B/1GW continues with mods; 200 MW this year; G42 progressing as planned); Straits Times Reuters carry; Al-Monitor Reuters byline.
