Gul Ahmed Data Centre: With A Total Investment That Could Reach $600 Million Over Three To Four Years, A Science And Technology Park Alongside The Facility, And Pakistan Currently Spending $700-$800 Million Annually On AI Without Domestic Infrastructure, QGDC Chairman Danish Iqbal Says “We Will Miss This Boat” If Pakistan Does Not Act Now
According to Bloomberg and Dawn, Quantum Global Data Centre (QGDC), a venture of the Gul Ahmed Energy Group, announced plans on Thursday to develop Pakistan’s largest Tier III data centre, which is expected to become operational in 2027 with an initial investment of $230 million. The project’s investment could rise to $600 million over the next three to four years. aolaol
The facility is being developed on a 30-acre site within Gul Ahmed Energy Limited, supported by a fully operational 136 MW captive power plant; enabling uninterrupted power and fast-track deployment of mission-critical infrastructure. The announcement came as QGDC signed a strategic partnership agreement with Huawei Pakistan to develop the facility and a science and technology park to support Pakistan’s digital transformation.
Speaking at the Q Summit, QGDC Chairman Danish Iqbal said that although Pakistan was still in the early stages of AI adoption, it was already spending between $700 million and $800 million annually, warning that demand for computing power would rise sharply.
Iqbal warned that Pakistan could end up importing billions of dollars worth of computing capacity and data services if domestic infrastructure is not developed. “We are at that stage that if we don’t take this chance right now, we will miss this boat,” Iqbal said. “And this will be a very costly boat, which we will not be able to build.”
As most of the nation’s data is currently hosted offshore, QGDC aims to strengthen digital sovereignty by delivering world-class, energy-efficient, and scalable data centre solutions within Pakistan.
To check out our previous coverage on Pakistan’s technology sector and digital infrastructure, read our articles here.
