Uzbekistan secures $6B in data-centre commitments for AI infrastructure

TECHNOLOGY

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Uzbekistan secures $6B in data-centre commitments for AI infrastructure

The Central Asian nation is betting big on compute power, with 800 megawatts of new capacity planned and a domestic AI market target of $1.5 billion by 2030.

by
Diego Almada Lopez

Sep. 28, 2026

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Uzbekistan has locked in over $6 billion in private investment commitments to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure by the end of the decade. The agreements, announced at a technology event in Tashkent, represent one of the largest AI infrastructure plays in Central Asia and signal the country’s ambitions to become a regional hub for compute-intensive workloads.

First Deputy Minister of Digital Technologies Oleg Pekos outlined plans to deploy 800 megawatts of new computing power. For context, a single hyperscale data center typically runs on 50 to 100 MW.

Why the urgency

Existing computing facilities in the country are running at nearly 90% utilization, meaning there is almost no headroom for new workloads, let alone the surge in demand that AI applications tend to create.

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The first wave of new capacity is expected to come online in November 2026, with additional facilities slated for completion by the end of that year.

Among the anchor projects driving this expansion is TAS-1, a data center being developed by Saudi-backed DataVolt inside Tashkent’s IT Park. The facility will start with an initial capacity of 12 MW and is designed for AI workloads, incorporating advanced liquid cooling systems. TAS-1 has already secured $150 million in financing from a consortium that includes the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the OPEC Fund for International Development. Beeline Uzbekistan, the telecom operator, is among the potential anchor tenants. Operations are expected to begin in late 2026.

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Building the ecosystem, not just the buildings

Uzbekistan’s infrastructure push is paired with a broader strategy to cultivate a domestic AI market worth $1.5 billion by 2030, a target that sits within the government’s Digital Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy.

State telecom operator Uztelecom recently launched GPU-equipped data centers in the cities of Bukhara and Kokand. These facilities are part of the national UzCloud platform and cater specifically to AI and cloud workloads.

The number of AI exporters operating out of IT Park has grown from 24 in 2024 to 160, with products now reaching 80 countries.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.