• Reuters says the wider 5GW UAE-US AI Campus is likely to be spread across multiple UAE sites rather than concentrated in Abu Dhabi
  • Stargate UAE's first 200MW remains under construction for planned 2026 delivery while the wider project's final layout is reviewed

The fact

The UAE is revising plans for its 5GW AI data-centre project after the Iran war prompted a review of how much critical computing infrastructure should sit in one place, Reuters reported. The project was originally planned as a roughly 10-square-mile campus in Abu Dhabi, but four sources told Reuters it is now likely to become a network of data centres across the country. Options under discussion include greater geographic separation, stronger physical protection and underground construction.

G42 said work remains on track and that security, resilience and operating requirements are still being reviewed. The first part already under construction is Stargate UAE, a 1GW cluster being developed by G42's Khazna Data Centers with OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank. Its first 200MW remains targeted for delivery in 2026. No revised timetable has been announced for the full 5GW programme.

The assessment

Moving from one large campus to several sites changes what the 5GW plan looks like on the ground. A single location concentrates power, networking, and computing capacity, but it also leaves more of that capacity exposed to the same local disruption. Spreading the build across the UAE can reduce that exposure, provided the sites do not rely on the same power routes, fibre paths, and recovery systems.

The first 200MW should be treated separately from the wider redesign. It is already part of a defined construction programme, while Reuters' reporting concerns how the remaining 5GW vision may be arranged. A change to the long-term layout does not mean the first Stargate UAE phase has stopped. For BTW readers, the 5GW total is only part of the story now. The final design will show how the capacity is divided between sites and whether the network can keep running if one location is disrupted.

What to watch

Watch for G42 or Khazna to publish a revised site map, capacity split and phasing plan, and for the first 200MW to enter service on schedule. Separate power and network designs would show whether the redesign changes how the system can withstand a site-level outage.