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Qatari data centre developer Syntys has broken ground on a 20MW facility to support hyperscale, cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing deployments.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on 12 November. It was attended by Qatar’s Communications & Information Technology Minister, Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohammed Al-Mannai, along with representatives from Ooredoo Group, Microsoft, Google, Kahramaa, the National Cyber Security Agency, Qatar Free Zones Authority and local banks.

Syntys said the facility is being developed on an existing company campus, where power, fibre connectivity and an operational team are already in place. The company has yet to disclose the project value or planned completion date.

The facility is designed to meet Tier 3 requirements and accommodate a range of rack densities, including higher-density configurations for graphics processing unit (GPU)-based AI and high-performance computing workloads.

It will operate as a carrier-neutral facility, allowing customers to select connectivity providers and establish network resilience in line with their own technical and operational requirements.

The project forms part of Syntys’ strategy to expand its Qatar platform through acquisitions and new development. Earlier this year, the company acquired QData QFZ, adding two operational, Tier 3-compliant, carrier-neutral facilities to its portfolio.

Syntys now owns and operates four campuses in Qatar, allowing customers to establish primary and disaster-recovery environments at separate in-country locations.

The company also designs and operates the facilities supporting Ooredoo’s sovereign AI cloud, which uses Nvidia Hopper GPUs.

The development comes as Qatar implements its Digital Agenda 2030, which identifies digital infrastructure as one of six strategic pillars and targets about QR40bn ($11bn) in economic impact by 2030.

The data centre is expected to support the growth of in-country digital services and enable sensitive workloads to remain within Qatar’s national borders.