Status: Go-Live / Operational Launch (Jan 2026) | Location: Riyadh & Jeddah (Multi-zone deployment)
The AWS Saudi Arabia Region represents a monumental leap in the Middle East’s digital sovereignty, officially reaching "General Availability" (Go-Live) in January 2026. Announced originally in 2024 with a staggering $5.3 billion investment commitment, this project is the centerpiece of the Kingdom’s "Cloud First" policy. By establishing three physically distinct Availability Zones (AZs) around the Riyadh metro area, AWS provides the redundancy and low-latency infrastructure required for Saudi Arabia to transition from an oil-dependent economy to a global technology hub.
Strategic Alignment with Vision 2030 The launch is timed perfectly with the rapid digitisation of Saudi government services and the emergence of "Giga-projects" like NEOM and the Red Sea Global project. Prior to this launch, many Saudi enterprises had to host data in the Bahrain or UAE regions; with the 2026 go-live, local data residency is guaranteed, satisfying the strict cybersecurity requirements of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA). This allows the financial, healthcare, and public sectors to migrate their most sensitive workloads to the public cloud.
AI-Ready Architecture Designed during the peak of the Generative AI revolution, the Saudi region is "AI-native." It is equipped with AWS’s latest custom silicon, including Trainium and Inferentia chips, alongside massive clusters of NVIDIA GPUs. This hardware supports the "Kingdom’s AI Strategy," enabling local startups and government entities to train Large Language Models (LLMs) in Arabic without data ever leaving Saudi soil. The infrastructure is built to handle extreme rack densities, utilizing specialized power delivery systems that support AI workloads exceeding 50kW per rack.
Sustainability in an Arid Climate A significant engineering feat of this project is its thermal management. Operating data centers in Riyadh’s desert environment requires innovative cooling solutions. AWS has implemented a closed-loop evaporative cooling system that significantly reduces electricity consumption. Crucially, the facility is designed to use treated sewage effluent (TSE) for cooling rather than potable water, preserving the Kingdom’s scarce freshwater resources. Furthermore, the region is integrated into the Saudi grid’s expanding renewable portfolio, with a roadmap to be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2030 via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with local solar energy providers.
Connectivity and Regional Hub Status Connectivity is handled through a robust fiber backbone that integrates the Saudi region into the Blue-Raman submarine cable system, which connects Europe to India via the Middle East. This makes Riyadh a critical "digital bridge," offering sub-30ms latency to both European and Asian markets. Locally, AWS has established multiple "Direct Connect" locations, allowing Saudi enterprises to create private, high-speed links between their on-premise data centers and the AWS cloud.
Conclusion As of January 2026, the AWS Saudi Arabia Region is not just a collection of buildings; it is the operating system for the New Middle East. It provides the compute power necessary for the Kingdom’s digital transformation, creates thousands of high-tech jobs, and cements Riyadh's status as a top-tier global data center hub.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Project Name | AWS Saudi Arabia Region (me-central-2) |
| Location | Riyadh & Jeddah (Multi-zone deployment) |
| Status | Go-Live / Operational Launch (Jan 2026) |
| Commissioning | January 2026 |
| Total IT Load | ~300 MW (Estimated full buildout) |
| Total Capacity | 3 Availability Zones (Multi-gigawatt roadmap) |
| Tier Level | Tier III+ (Fault Tolerant Design) |
| Project Type | Hyperscale / AI-Driven Cloud Region |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| City Name | Riyadh |
| Population | 7 to over 9 million |
| Urban Agglomeration | 7.9 to 9 million |
| City GDP | $550 billion by 2030 |
| Per Capita Income | $32,000 - $55,000 USD |
| City Tier | Tier 1 / Primary Data Center Hub (Riyadh) |
| Key Strengths | Capital city (Riyadh), massive government and enterprise demand, PIF backing, proximity to international connectivity (Jeddah/Dammam). |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| Developer / Operator | Amazon Web Services |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | MCIT (Ministry of Communications & IT) |
| Construction Contractor | Bechtel / Local Tier 1 Partners |
| MEP Engineering | AECOM / Internal AWS Design |
| Network Connectivity | STC, Mobily, Zain (Local peering) |
| Power Infrastructure | SEC (Saudi Electricity Company) |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| Power Capacity | 100MW+ per Availability Zone |
| UPS Redundancy | $2N$ Redundancy with Lithium-ion Battery Storage |
| Cooling System | Evaporative Cooling with Recycled Water (TSE) |
| Connectivity | Terabit-scale backbone via Blue-Raman Cable |
| PUE Target | 1.15 – 1.20 |
| Energy Mix | Transitioning to 100% Solar (via ACWA Power PPAs) |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| Announcement | March 2024 |
| Construction Start | Late 2024 |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | January 2026 |
| Full Buildout | 2027 – 2028 |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Investment | $5.3 Billion |
| Funding | Corporate Investment / Direct FDI |
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