$68 Million Data Centre To Boost Melbourne's West

A new state-of-the-art data centre will be established in Melbourne’s west, creating up to 450 construction jobs on top of 35 ongoing full time roles.

Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis announced that leading global tech company Digital Realty had acquired land and was looking to invest up to USD $68 million to establish a new data centre in Deer Park.

Early stages of the design and planning processes are already underway, with the new 8,000 square metre Connect@Scale℠ facility to be located adjacent to the company’s existing Deer Park Data Centre.

Digital Realty holds more than 139 properties in over 32 markets throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, exceeding 2.3 million square metres of data centre space.

The project will establish Digital Realty’s third data centre in Victoria – making the company the largest provider of data centre services across the state – enabling it to meet surging demand as local and international corporations and SMEs increasingly turn to cloud-based information communication technology systems.

Victoria hosts nearly a quarter of all data centres in Australia, with a digital technology industry that now generates more than $34 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 91,300 people across the state.

This investment also follow moves to Victoria by a growing list of data and cyber security companies including the country’s National Broadband Network (NBN), who announced last year they would be establishing their national Cyber Security Operations Centre in Victoria with 700 new jobs over the next five years.

“This investment by Digital Realty strengthens Victoria’s growing reputation as a leader in data security and cyber security excellence," said Minister for Small Business Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis.

Managing Director, APAC, Digital Realty Edward Higase said: "This project will add tremendous value to both new and existing clients, and strengthens our continued investment in Australia and especially Victoria. The demand for data centre space will only continue to grow as more companies move towards the cloud and look to outsource IT infrastructure."