Macquarie Data Centres is building IC3 Super West north of Sydney at the existing Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus, which will interconnect with IC3 East. Macquarie Data Centres said IC3 Super West will be designed, constructed and operated to meet the needs of corporate, government and multi-national customers "and enhance New South Wales’ cybersecurity infrastructure and capabilities".
Macquarie Data Centres is spending A$78 million on the core and shell but has not disclosed the final budget. However, DCI's 36MW Sydney data centre announced in January, is billed as a $400 million. Planning permission is expected in early 2022 with phase one construction scheduled to complete in the second half of calendar year 2023, subject to final board approvals.
Upon completion it will be the largest data centre on the campus, adding 32MW to bring the total IT load to 50MW.
“This global scale data centre will be one of the most certified facilities in the region,” said group executive of Macquarie Data Centres, David Hirst.
“Data is growing exponentially, and we have demonstrated time and time again our ability to deliver infrastructure to meet that growth. Our data centres are sovereign, secure and certified to manage Australia’s most important data and drive the digital economy,” Hirst continued.
On certifications, IC3 Super West is designed to achieve Security Construction and Equipment Committee (SCEC) Zone 4 or higher security, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 (information security), PCI DSS 3.2, ISO 45001(occupational health and safety), ISO 14001 (environmental management), and "a host of other security, safety and efficiency standards".
As the home of the Sovereign Cyber Security Centre of Excellence the campus will host an integrated mix physical and virtual infrastructure designed to monitor and manage cybersecurity events. With an engineering team on site around the clock, IC3 Super West will become "a truly Australian sovereign solution to the growing cyber security threats".
Across construction, engineering, cybersecurity, and other fields Macquarie said the project is expected to create more than 1,200 jobs.
Citing research from AustCyber that was published in 2018, Macquarie said the Australian cyber security sector needs around 18,000 new workers by 2026.
The news followed the completion of the IC5 Bunker facility in Canberra, and the IC3 East (Phase 1) facility at its Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus in Sydney’s North Zone – "a circa AU$100 million plus investment which has brought over 1,600 jobs to Sydney and Canberra during the pandemic".
“This data centre will attract new investment into Australia from multinationals looking to expand in the Asia Pacific region,” said Macquarie Telecom Group CEO David Tudehope.
“The New South Wales digital economy is rapidly growing, and this project will create world-class infrastructure and valuable long-term jobs in the digital and cyber security sector,” Tudehope added.
