DCI Plans $279m Data Centre on NSW-ACT Border

A data centre planned for the NSW-ACT border would add significant capacity to an emerging innovation precinct in the area, according to proponents.

The plan is on public exhibition through the NSW State Significant Development pathway.

The DCI Poplars Data Centre Project is proposed for 2 Wolseley Place at Jerrabomberra and would help service the Poplars Innovation Precinct.

The Trustee for NineZero DC Sub Trust I has submitted plans for the $279-million development for the site 5km south-west of the Queanbeyan town centre in NSW and 800m from the ACT border.

ASIC lists the directors of NineZero DC Sub Trust I as Felix Chih-Wai Chan, Natasha Diana Vyrnwy-Jones, and Udhay Mathialagan, and the ultimate holding company as Brookfield Asset Management Inc.

According to the application, the single-storey facility would operate around the clock and have a total power consumption of 25.4 megawatts.

The project design includes ancillary office space, diesel generators, associated fuel storage, carparking and civil infrastructure works and has a gross floor area of 5826 square metres.

The development would be staged—the first is slated to deliver two data halls, followed by additional data halls in subsequent stages.

According to the application, “the proposed data centre would provide significant social and economic benefits for the Queanbeyan-Palerang LGA and the wider Canberra region” and “the generation of high technology jobs, increased data storage, and high technology service opportunities”.

DCI Data Centers, the developer behind the project, is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management with a “management team [that] has experience in the design and management of over 500,000sq m of data centre and technology real estate worldwide”, the environmental impact statement said.

The proposal includes several sustainability initiatives such as high-efficiency air-cooling systems, energy-efficient LED lighting with motion sensors, building envelope design using insulation and high-performance glazing, and nominal 50kW roof-mounted solar photovoltaics.

Rainwater harvesting is also planned for onsite irrigation and toilet flushing.

▲ The facility promises regional economic benefits and technological infrastructure growth for the expanding NSW-ACT corridor, the developer said.

The main construction phase for the first stage is expected to last 12 to 18 months, and subsequent stages about six months each.

Once complete, the facility would comprise five data halls, two ancillary offices, and internal plant and service areas for a total building area of about 7078 square metres.

The DCI Poplars project joins a wave of major data centre developments across NSW.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, Sydney ranks third for operational capacity in the Asia-Pacific region at 1.3gW, behind mainland China (4.5gW) and Japan (1.5gW).

Other significant projects in the pipeline include Stockland’s $718-million MPark Talavera Road data centre at Macquarie Park, designed by data centre specialists Greenbox Architects with a capacity of 76.4 megawatts.

Amazon is developing a two-storey data centre at Gregory Hills with 53-megawatt capacity and 12 data halls, while Goodman is planning a $1.4-billion conversion of ABC’s former studios on Sydney’s North Shore into a data centre.