Building Saudi Arabia’s AI Infrastructure: Power, Water and Site Requirements for Saudi AI Data Centre Investment

Capacity metrics reinforce how fast physical infrastructure is moving from planning to steel in the ground. Vision2030.ai estimates total data centre capacity grew from approximately 50 MW of IT load capacity in 2020 to over 300 MW by 2025, with committed projects expected to more than double by 2028. A separate Vision2030.ai industry page cites 467 MW live against a national target of 1.5 GW. The same 1.5 GW figure appears in reporting that links it to the National Data Center Strategy target for additional capacity by 2030, and it also notes about 27 additional colocation data centers planned or under construction across more than 10 locations. Together, these signals shape how developers should phase land, power, and network delivery.

Power, Cooling Water, and the Site Due-Diligence Checklist

Power availability and electrical design choices are increasingly central to underwriting Saudi AI data centre investment. IMARC flags that national grid capacity in some secondary cities lags demand growth, pushing investors to prioritize sites with clearer delivery pathways. On the build side, Mordor Intelligence estimates the Saudi Arabia data center construction market grows from USD 2.11 billion in 2026 to USD 8.11 billion by 2031, at a 30.91% CAGR, and it breaks down where money goes: in 2025, power-backup systems held 52.90% share of electrical infrastructure, and cooling systems accounted for 41.30% of mechanical infrastructure spending. Tier choices also affect footprint and risk: Mordor says Tier 3 commanded 53.20% share in 2025, while Tier 4 is projected to expand at a 31.34% CAGR through 2031.

Cooling strategy is tightly linked to water scarcity and desert climate conditions. IMARC describes Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s most water-scarce countries, citing an annual water supply of roughly 89.5 m3 per person. It also notes air-side economizers are limited by ambient conditions, and that water-cooled systems face sustainability criticism, which pushes operators toward higher-cost air-cooled and immersion cooling technologies. These constraints elevate the importance of site-level due diligence on cooling approach, heat rejection, and long-term sustainability optics. Investors can use market segmentation to position assets: Mordor reports colocation retained 56.40% revenue share in 2025, while self-build hyperscalers are forecast as the highest-growth type at a 31.75% CAGR.

Investors also need to map policy and partnership momentum into site requirements for compliance and speed. Reporting tied to ResearchAndMarkets.com states the Communications, Space and Technology Commission regulates data center operations through registration requirements and technical standards covering power, cooling, security, redundancy, disaster recovery and data protection. On the capital and pipeline side, Vision2030.ai describes growth being driven by data sovereignty requirements, AI compute demand and government digital transformation. IMARC highlights a December 2025 joint venture agreement between stc and PIF-backed Humain to accelerate large-scale AI-focused data center infrastructure, and it notes Mobily’s February 2025 USD 905 million (SAR 3.4 billion) initiative that includes building data centers with around 39 MW capacity alongside submarine cable expansion to support AI, cloud and advanced digital services.