Developer Khazaen Data Center has unveiled plans for a carrier-neutral AI data center campus in Barka, northern Oman.

The Khazaen Data Campus (KDC) will occupy a 592,000 sq ft (55,000 sqm) site in the Khazaen Economic City area of the coastal city and will support enterprise colocation, high-density computing, AI, and high-performance computing workloads.

Although the current design includes a capacity of up to 45MW, the campus is being developed to accommodate a longer-term capacity of up to 100MW.

KDC will focus on international customers in Europe, North America, and India while developing digital infrastructure capabilities in Oman and the wider Gulf region.

The project is being developed in eight phases and is currently going through design and approvals. Khazaen Data Center said it aims for an initial operational target in Q2 2028.

Dr Aadil Alexander, KDC’s project sponsor, said: “Khazaen Data Campus represents a massive, long-term leap forward for digital infrastructure in the Middle East, strategically positioned to support Oman's digital economy and serve as a vital connectivity gateway for the wider region.

“Our focus is not simply on building standard real estate; we are creating an enterprise-grade, hyperscale-ready ecosystem designed to meet the rigorous power, latency, and scalability requirements of global operators.”

KDC’s announcement comes amid continuing expansion of digital infrastructure in Oman as the sultanate transitions away from an oil-reliant economy through its Vision 2040 national strategy.

Data Center Map currently lists 15 data centers in Oman, including two run by global digital infrastructure company Equinix in Muscat and Salalah.

Earlier this year, five companies from the Sultanate, the UAE and Italy signed an agreement to develop a 150MW hyperscale AI data center in the country.

Oman has also signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with Algeria to establish data centers and develop AI and digital government initiatives.

Learn more about the data center market in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region and meet with other executives and experts in the region at the DCN Riyadh event next year.