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Egypt has announced plans to build a 200-megawatt artificial intelligence data centre worth $1 billion, marking the country’s entry into the large-scale AI infrastructure race as global powers compete for influence in the region.
Communications Minister Raafat Hendy announced the project on Wednesday, which will initially operate at 20 megawatts with an investment of $200 million over three years.
The facility will be developed through a partnership involving Vodafone Business, Elsewedy Electric and Cassava Technologies, Nvidia’s primary African partner.
The project also includes Egypt’s first sovereign AI data centre, designed to enable organisations to develop AI applications while retaining data within the country.
Cassava Technologies confirmed the facility will use Nvidia’s accelerated computing technology.
The Egyptian announcement follows a rival bid from Chinese technology giant Huawei, which proposed building AI data centres using its Ascend chips.
Huawei’s offer reportedly includes 2,008 processors and would be completed within 12 months.
US authorities have reportedly contacted Nvidia, AMD and Microsoft to assemble a competing American consortium, with the State Department seeking to counter Huawei’s expansion into Africa.
The outcome of the competition could have broader implications, as Nvidia’s dominance has sparked US regulatory action in recent years, while Huawei’s victory would mark the first overseas export of its Ascend accelerators.
The project comes as countries across Africa and the Middle East compete to attract AI investment.
Egypt’s neighbours, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have also announced multibillion-dollar data centre investments as they seek to diversify their economies and establish themselves as regional technology hubs.
