Amazon is moving forward with plans for new data centers in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, reports The Urban Developer.
The Sydney-based facility will sit in the southwest of the city at 52 Turner Road, Smeaton Grange, and is expected to cost around AU$50m (US$32.38m).
The data center will have an IT capacity of 40MW, and will be the company's second facility within the Smeaton Grange Park.
Amazon purchased the land on Turner Road in March 2022 for AU$30.18 million (US$19.55m), more than four times what it paid for the existing SYD52 data center's land five years previously.
According to the NSW Major Project Planner, the data center will also include "emergency back-up generators, cooling plant, diesel and lithium-ion battery storage, substation and associated infrastructure."
The new data center will be a part of the AWS Asia Pacific (Sydney) Region, which launched in 2012.
AWS was reported to be planning a new data center campus in West Sydney in June 2023, dubbed "Project Echidna."
This was cited as an AU$300 million (US$200m) project that would see a two-story facility developed, which would offer 35.2MW of capacity across 9,225 sqm (99,300 sq ft), though AWS did not specify the exact site location at the time.
In addition, the company operates a campus in the Eastern Creek area of Sydney.
AWS to build data center in Melbourne
Elsewhere in the country, Amazon is seeking to develop a data center in Melbourne, Victoria.
The company is planning a $50m data center on a 13.2-hectare site at 54-80 Ferris Road, Cobblebank, about 40km west of Melbourne’s center.
The land in Melbourne was purchased for AU$$60.5m (US$39.22) in July 2023. Once developed, the data center will become part of the AWS region in Melbourne, which was launched in January 2023. Limited details about the data center project have been shared.
In total, AWS has committed to investing AU$6.8bn (US$4.41bn) in the AWS region in Melbourne and anticipates that it will create more than 2,500 full-time jobs and contribute an estimated AU$15.9bn (US$10.31bn) in GDP.
NextDC submits SEARS for S5 data center in Sydney
Aussie operator NextDC, meanwhile, is planning to expand its footprint in Sydney.
Towards the end of last year, NextDC submitted its Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARS) request to push ahead with the S5 data center in the Macquarie Data Centre park in Sydney.
Submitted on November 8, the application was for the construction and operation of a data center, auditorium, function center, and office premises with associated car parking and landscaping.
The data center will be located on Lot 3 of the data center park at 269 Lane Cove Road in the City of Ryde local government area.
According to the submitted architectural plans, the facility will include two "technical blocks," each spanning 16,000 sqm (172,220 sq ft) and offering 30MW in IT capacity.
The project will also involve the demolition of existing structures at the site, and is described as including "site preparation works and construction and operation of a new Data Centre and Innovation Hub with urban plaza and the delivery of new roads."
The project is currently preparing its Environmental Impact Study (EIS).
NextDC currently has three Sydney data centers up and running: S1, S2, and S3. The company's website lists S4 and S5 as "in planning." S4 will be located in Horsley Park and will have 300MW of IT capacity.
