Saudi GDP Falls 3.8% in Third Quarter as Gulf Data Centers Expand Rapidly
Key Facts
The National reported that EQT is considering a joint deal with sovereign investors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to develop data centers for artificial intelligence. The newspaper’s report could not be accessed, and no independent confirmation of the talks or the investors’ identities could be found, so the deal remains attributed to the publication. Against that backdrop, third-quarter data showed Saudi real gross domestic product contracting 3.8% year over year, after falling 4.7% in the second quarter. That puts discussion of infrastructure investment in the context of an economy that recorded an annual contraction in the latest reported quarter. The economic calendar record did not include a forecast for the reading, so there is no documented comparison with market expectations.
Saudi Arabia’s data center infrastructure has expanded in recent years. The Saudi Press Agency said operating capacity rose from 68 megawatts in 2021 to more than 440 megawatts in 2025. It added that the kingdom hosts more than 60 data centers, with investment exceeding 16 billion riyals. These figures show the scale of the existing sector, but do not establish that those investments are connected to the EQT talks reported by The National. In January 2026, the Saudi National Infrastructure Fund announced a non-binding financing framework with HUMAIN of up to $1.2 billion. The framework covers development of up to 250 megawatts of hyperscale data center capacity.
Announced digital infrastructure plans across the region reflect the widening scope of investment, without revealing details of a potential EQT deal. The National, citing the International Monetary Fund, reported that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar announced plans in the previous year to invest more than 5% of gross domestic product in artificial intelligence, worth about $120 billion. For data centers, Reuters cited JLL data showing 1.6 gigawatts of operational IT capacity in the region, alongside 2.6 gigawatts under construction. Planned capacity totaled 13.8 gigawatts in the mid-2026 report. These figures place announced projects within a broader regional expansion, without specifying EQT’s share.
JLL’s base case expects regional data center capacity to more than quadruple by 2030. According to data reported by Reuters, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are expected to account for more than 80% of regional capacity additions through that year. The forecast comes as technology companies expand in the region: an Oracle executive told The National that the company had added about two data centers in the six months before October 29, 2026. “We will have more over the next six months; demand is massive,” he added. The executive thus linked Oracle’s planned expansion to demand, without commenting on the reported EQT talks. Future capacity plans provide market context for the report, not confirmation that a new agreement has been reached.
The execution of data center projects remains tied to factors beyond the availability of financing. A JLL analyst said that “financing is rarely the limiting factor,” adding that project delivery increasingly depends on sequencing rather than viability alone. The analyst linked execution to the ability to secure customers and power and control construction costs. This assessment sets out practical conditions for regional expansion plans that include operational, under-construction and planned capacity. As for the EQT talks, the available facts provide no details on investment size or timing, and no confirmation from the parties involved. The next step in those talks remains unspecified in published information.