The Emirates Development Bank (EDB), the key financial engine of the UAE’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, has approved a trade finance facility to JLW Middle East, for the design and construction of a 60MW data centre located in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.

The facility was signed by Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, the Chief Executive of EDB, and Michael Boufarhat, the Chairman and CEO of JLW Middle East in Dubai.

On the deal, Al Naqbi said: "A key element of EDB’s strategy to empower the national industrial sector through direct and indirect financing, is our focus on projects with a clear developmental impact on the economy and that facilitate the adoption of advanced technology."

"The completion of a data centre in Masdar will enhance the UAE’s digital infrastructure and gradual transition to a fully-fledged digital economy which accelerates data sovereignty, possibilities of data analytics and other development in data-centric technologies in the UAE," he stated.

Al Naqbi pointed out that in today’s technology-driven economy, data centres are vital not only to successful and continuous business operations but to the development of advanced technology ecosystems. 

"The financing requirement from JLW, one of the regions leading specialised electro–mechanical engineering, procurement and construction contractors in this field, satisfied a number of our lending eligibility criteria and scored high on our proprietary developmental scorecard, we are delighted we can support the completion of this start-of-the-art facility," he added.

Boufarhat said this was an important deal for JLW, as it meant the company was able to proceed on this project with the utmost confidence. 

As one of the few large specialist MEP contractors in the Mena region, we understand that accessing the right financing for this kind of undertaking can be a challenging and complex process, but EDB’s flexible and highly competitive solution will ensure we will meet our client’s exacting standards," he noted. 

"We are delighted to be putting our expertise to ensure the completion of all elements of this project to the highest standards in the industry and to deliver another landmark project for the UAE" .

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