Egyptian contractor Hassan Allam Construction and India’s Sterling & Wilson have been awarded an estimated SR750m ($200m) contract to construct the first phase of a data centre project in Riyadh.
The first phase will boast an IT load capacity of 16.2MW. Its overall capacity will reach 50MW in the second phase.
Scope
The scope of work includes civil, architectural, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works, infrastructure works and other associated works.
Once both phases are complete, the facility will have one 5MW standard-density hall. Moreover, it will have four high-density halls, each rated at 11.2MW.
Developers
The data center project is being jointly developed by Saudi Arabian artificial intelligence (AI) firm Humain and Center3 – the digital infrastructure subsidiary of local telecom company STC Group.
Timeline
The first phase is scheduled to take 16 months. Also, In December 2025, Center3 and Humain partnered to develop and operate AI-focused data centres across Saudi Arabia, with a planned combined capacity of up to 1GW.
According to the partners the first phase will deliver up to 250MW of capacity. It will be designed for high-density AI workloads and large-scale model training.
The venture combines Center3’s data centre operations and regional connectivity with Humain’s full-stack AI capabilities, with the latter responsible for aligning facility design with advanced compute requirements and future architectures.
Also, the companies said the programme will deliver purpose-built facilities engineered for high power density, low latency and resilient operations. This will enable the support for large language models and other mission-critical AI applications.
They added that the initial schemes will serve as a template for subsequent rollouts as capacity scales towards the 1GW target.
Saudi Arabia Emerges as a Leading AI Infrastructure Hub in the Middle East: Here is Why
Saudi Arabia’s massive electrical grid and ambitious energy expansion provide a highly reliable, cost-effective foundation for energy-intensive data centers. Supported by heavily subsidized, competitive industrial power tariffs (around $0.05–$0.06 per kWh) and backed by state-driven infrastructure investments, the Kingdom offers significantly lower operational overhead than traditional Western tech hubs. Furthermore, as part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is rapidly integrating massive solar, wind, and natural gas projects directly into the national grid. This aggressive utility scale-up ensures that hyperscalers and AI facilities have direct, resilient access to the high-density power loads required to fuel next-generation compute and large-scale AI workloads.
Factsheet: Humain-Center3 AI Data Centre Phase 1
Project Name: Humain-Center3 AI Data Centre (Phase 1)
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Developers: Joint venture between Humain (Saudi AI company) and Center3 (STC Group’s digital infrastructure arm)
Main Contractors: Hassan Allam Construction (Egypt) & Sterling & Wilson (India) JV
Contract Value: SAR 750 million ($200 million)
Phase 1 Delivery: 16 months
Technical Specifications
IT Power Load:
- Phase 1: 16.2 MW
- Phase 2 (Target Total): 50 MW
Data Hall Setup (Final):
- 1 x 5 MW standard-density hall
- 4 x 11.2 MW high-density halls
Engineering Focus: Purpose-built for low latency, high power density, and resilient cooling tailored for heavy AI training and LLM workloads.
Scope of Work
- Complete Civil and Architectural construction
- Full Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) installations
- Site utilities and supporting infrastructure
Broader Context
Initial Rollout Goal: First phase of a larger 250 MW scheme designed as the blueprint for future sites.
Long-Term Target: Part of a broader partnership to deploy up to 1 GW of AI data centre capacity across Saudi Arabia.
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