Following the appointment of FDC Construction (FDC) as the main building contractor, construction has begun on Macquarie Data Centres’ newest facility in Sydney, IC3 Super West.
Part of Macquarie Data Centres’ wider expansion strategy to meet the increase in demand in capacity from its hyperscale, government and enterprise customers, IC3 Super West is being purpose-built for high-density cloud and AI workloads, including hybrid air and liquid cooling options.
The facility is the third and largest addition to the flagship Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus in Sydney’s North Zone, bringing the total campus IT load up to 63MW.
“Sovereign AI and cloud data centres are the backbone of Australia’s AI-driven future. Like all of Macquarie Data Centres’ facilities, IC3 Super West will be Certified Strategic by the Australian Federal Government. This gives our data centres a strong compliance posture as regulations around data sovereignty and AI continue to tighten in Australia and worldwide,” says David Hirst, group executive of Macquarie Data Centres.
IC3 Super West marks the seventh project between FDC and Macquarie Data Centres, with the most recent being IC3 East, which was delivered on time and on budget.
FDC founder Ben Cottle says, “Our longstanding partnership with Macquarie Data Centres is testament to the trust and collaboration that exists between both organisations. With the rapid adoption of AI resulting in increased demand for data centres, FDC’s team of experts continue to be at the forefront of delivering scalable, energy-efficient facilities like IC3 Super West that can support the ever-evolving demands of Macquarie Data Centres’ customers.”
While customers will be assured of AI densities, resilient data halls, dedicated office space and storage, IC3 Super West is also expected to bring more than 1,200 jobs to the region. Construction of Phase 1 of the project will cost around $350 million.
“The widespread adoption of AI is fuelling a new wave of next generation AI infrastructure and GPUs from tech giants such as Dell and Nvidia,” adds Hirst. “These highly dense compute technologies can only live in purpose-built data centres that meet their significant power and cooling requirements. IC3 Super West is being built to cater to this rising demand here in Australia.”
