Dakhla AI data center plan anchors Morocco’s green tech ambitions

Sunday 23rd November 2025

by inAfrika Newsroom

Morocco’s planned Dakhla AI data center and AI institute aim to turn the southern city into a digital and logistics hub. Officials say the project will draw up to 500 megawatts of renewable power from coastal wind and solar farms.

The government links the Dakhla AI data center to broader plans for ports, roads and subsea cables along the Atlantic coast. These routes would connect West Africa, Europe and the Americas. The AI institute will train engineers and data scientists and support applied research for sectors such as agriculture, logistics, finance and public services.

Rabat has already signed digital-transition and energy partnerships to back the project. Detailed budgets and timelines remain under discussion, but officials see first-mover advantage. They want the Dakhla AI data center to host African cloud services that keep data on the continent and cut latency for regional users.

Dakhla AI data center and regional race

Moroccan officials argue that large, clean-powered data centres can help African firms control their own data. They also expect the Dakhla AI institute to work with universities and start-ups on local-language AI tools and sector-specific solutions.

Analysts note that Morocco has already attracted AI labs and innovation hubs from global partners. They warn, however, that the Dakhla AI data center must match global standards on cybersecurity, data protection and reliability. Success could trigger a regional race, as neighbours pursue similar green-data corridors across North Africa.

Why it matters for Africa

The center matters for Africa because it shifts focus from raw exports to digital value. A large, renewable-powered hub on African soil can reduce costs for local firms, improve data protection and support home-grown AI tailored to African languages and markets. Linked training programmes will grow skilled talent, not just hardware. If Morocco delivers, other states may invest in similar green corridors, boosting cloud, fintech, e-government and health-tech ecosystems. That shift would help Africa claim a bigger share of the global digital economy instead of remaining a passive customer of foreign platforms.