#Jordan #datacentres - Aqaba Digital Hub, operator of Jordan’s largest data centre, has launched Klstrai, the Kingdom’s first dedicated, locally-hosted AI compute platform. Klstrai gives government entities, private companies, startups and developers access to AI compute services from within Jordan, letting them run data analysis, document processing and AI applications locally. The launch, attended by Jordan’s Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smeirat, is aimed at strengthening the country’s digital sovereignty and reducing reliance on infrastructure hosted abroad.
SO WHAT? - Most AI compute used across the Middle East still runs on infrastructure hosted elsewhere, which means data leaves the country and governments lose oversight of how it’s processed. Klstrai addresses this gap by giving Jordanian organisations, particularly government bodies handling sensitive data, a domestic option. It’s a small platform relative to the hyperscale data centre investments elsewhere in the region, but it signals that mid-sized markets like Jordan are now treating AI compute sovereignty as a baseline requirement.
KEY POINTS:
Aqaba Digital Hub has launched Klstrai, Jordan’s first dedicated AI compute platform, now hosted and operational at its facilities in Aqaba.
The platform gives government entities, private-sector companies, startups and developers access to AI compute services from within Jordan, without the need to purchase specialised equipment or build their own infrastructure.
Klstrai offers a range of options from on-demand compute services through to the development and operation of fully integrated solutions, letting organisations pick the level of build they need.
Potential applications include data analysis, document processing, process automation, digital assistants and customer-service solutions, with flexible options ranging from on-demand compute to fully integrated solutions.
The launch event was attended by Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smeirat, ASEZA Chief Commissioner Shadi Ramzi Al Majali, Aqaba Governor Ayman Awaysheh, Aqaba Development Corporation CEO Hussein Safadi, and the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Samira Al-Zoubi
Aqaba Digital Hub, inaugurated by Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II in October 2025, is Jordan’s first integrated digital project, including a 17,000 square metre data centre with capacity of up to 12 megawatts.
The hub houses Jordan’s first Tier III-certified, carrier-neutral data centre, along with a submarine cable landing station and AqabaIX, the country’s only Internet Exchange, giving it direct access to subsea cable systems linking the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
ZOOM OUT - Jordan's first fully-integrated digital infrastructure hub, Aqaba Digital Hub was officially opened in October 2025. The hub houses the Kingdom's largest purpose-built data centre facility at around 17,000 square metres with up to 12 megawatts of capacity, built AI-ready from the outset. It also hosts Jordan's first marine cable landing station, with three submarine cables connecting Asia, Africa and Europe and two more in progress, alongside the country's first neutral data exchange centre. Funded by loans from the The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Capital Bank of Jordan, Aqaba Digital Hub is leveraging its combination of local compute, direct international connectivity and integrated security to attract local and global investment.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Source: Aqaba Digital Hub, Jordan media
Read more AI news from Jordan:
World Bank backs Jordan school digital plan (Middle East AI News)
Jordan deploys AI to cut water losses (Middle East AI News)
Jordan hits 85.5% government service digitisation (Middle East AI News)
Propeller launches $50 million fund for AI infrastructure (Middle East AI News)
New research aims to empower Jordan’s teachers with AI (Middle East AI News)