NextDC, Equinix Invest Millions in Australian Data Centre Expansion

Two major players in the data centre industry have upped their game and announced multimillion-dollar expansions to their Australian operations.

NextDC has submitted plans for a $195 million data centre in Perth that will feature nine data centre levels and 10-storeys of office space by Hames Sharley Architects.

The proposal has been submitted to council within months of acquiring the Perth site, which NextDC snapped up for $22 million as part of its push to acquire sites for data centres across the nation.

NextDC acquired three properties, including the Lord Street, Perth site for $170 million in April. The purchases were funded by a $281 million equity raising by the group earlier this year.

While NextDC flagged plans to develop all of their new sites, the Perth property is the first to have an application submitted.

The data centre owner was rumoured to have snapped up the 1.2-hectare Lindsay Bennelong developments' site in Sydney's north shore for $80 million.

The ASX-listed NextDC is due to publish its end of year results on 31 August.

Equinix spends $15m on Perth data centre digs

American internet services multinational Equinix has also announced plans to expand in Perth.

The NASDAQ-listed Equinix aims to capitalise on the increased demand for their services in Perth which is partly due to sub-sea connectivity between Perth and South-East Asia.

Equinix plan to add an additional 225 cabinets costing an estimated $15 million to its PE2 Perth data centre bringing the total to 700 cabinets.

Equinix acquired the site in late 2017 as part of a $1 billion deal to acquire data centre operator Metronode.

This expansion represents the first investment in Perth by Equinix since purchasing the assets last year.

“There’s definitely a level of interest in that connectivity capability, and obviously having more than one submarine cable out of Perth gives the ability to leverage that,” Australian managing director Jeremy Deutsch said.