Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Turner & Townsend, a global program management company, released the tenth edition of its Data Center Construction Index (DCCI) report, the leading global benchmark for data center construction costs, drawing on over 500 live or recently completed projects in 62 markets.

The report highlighted that the Middle East is one of the least expensive regions globally for data center construction ($/W), averaging $9.93, making it more affordable than Europe ($12.76), Asia ($12.10), and North America ($12.06).

Three Middle East countries ranked among the top 62 locations globally: Saudi Arabia ($10.80) at 40th place, Qatar ($9.80) at 53rd, and the UAE ($9.20) at 58th. 

Alan Coary, director and data center lead for the Middle East at Turner & Townsend, said: “The Middle East stands to benefit from its relatively low cost of construction and energy, as well as strong government backing for AI infrastructure. Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN initiative and the UAE’s continued investment in AI and hyperscale data center development through G42 and Khazna are transforming the region’s computing capacity and positioning it as a globally competitive AI hub.”

Supported by a survey of over 400 experts in the global data center industry, the report affirmed that data center construction costs continued to rise globally in 2026, as surging demand for AI computing power and large-scale data center projects outpaced the supply of powered land and skilled labor to deliver them.  

52% of survey respondents experienced cost increases above 6%, with approximately 20% reporting inflation above 15%. In 2027, 28% of global respondents expect inflation to be between 1% and 5%, indicating a continued softening of cost pressure. 57% of respondents expect inflation to be below 15%.