This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE ACT Government has given ActewAGL an option for the direct sale of a block of land in Hume for the development of a secure data centre.
The direct sale option over a 21-hectare site opposite the Mugga Lane landfill, 600 metres west of the Monaro Highway, will be available for 12 months.
During that time, ActewAGL will undertake further investigations and obtain any approvals necessary for the development.
The site is currently earmarked for a $1 billion world-first data centre campus to built by a consortium. The Canberra Technology City proposal includes ActewAGL, United Kingdom based world leader in engineering and future-proofed data centres – Galileo Connect, developer Technical Real Estate and CB Richard Ellis.
Construction of the facility is scheduled to start early in 2009.
ACT chief minister Jon Stanhope said the CTC proposal would see the development of a world-first data centre campus that would revolutionise the way computer systems and data were secured and supported, creating a comprehensive, long-term data solution for Australian and international organisations.
“Canberra, as the nation’s capital and a world leader in the field of information technology, is an ideal location for such a development. The CTC proposal would deliver many benefits for the ACT, making us leaders in data centre infrastructure, facilities and services and attracting high-value data centre tenants, such as global financial institutions and their skilled workforces,” he added.
“The proposal for a data centre campus in the ACT has been driven by a sudden and dramatic shift in demand in the last two years.
“This demand has been driven by computer hardware power requirements rapidly exceeding the limits of old data centres, and by data centre tenants demanding secure facilities that are designed and engineered to be upgraded and expanded whilst they remain in full production,” Stanhope concluded.
The gas-fired power station would sell electricity to the ‘mission critical’ data centres, which would be leased to commercial customers.
Australian Property Journal
