Global Switch receives green light for new Sydney data centre

Global Switch, the leading data centre provider in Europe and Asia Pacific, is to build a world class, A$200 million base build (A$300 million fully-fitted) data centre in Sydney having received Part 3A Major Projects approval from the NSW Department of Planning. The 365,000 sq ft (34,000 sq m) new data centre - Sydney 2 - will be adjacent to Global Switch's existing data centre in Sydney which is already the largest facility of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere with 450,000 sq ft (42,000 sq m) of space.

Sydney 2 will be a leading example of an environmentally sustainable data centre incorporating innovative design initiatives aimed at achieving long-term energy efficiency.

The data centre will have a cutting edge on-site tri-generation system powered by a natural gas-fired energy plant and will provide an average of 1,500 watts per sq m as well as power for cooling and ancillary systems.  In terms of water recycling, the new building will have facilities to harvest rainwater and to recycle water for use in the cooling systems, leading to a potential saving of 220,000 megalitres of water per annum.

The data centre will be one of only a handful of buildings in the world to target a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating which measures a building's environmental efficiency.

Development of the new centre has been driven by the success of Global Switch's existing centre at Harris Street in Ultimo which is now operating at near full capacity. Construction of Sydney 2 is planned to commence in Q2 2011 with completion 18 months afterwards and will create 400 construction jobs with around 50 full time permanent jobs.

Commenting on the new development, Global Switch Executive Chairman, John Corcoran, said: "As owners and operators of our data centres, we are in a unique position to consolidate our market leading position in Europe and Asia-Pacific and grow the business as markets develop.  We saw Sydney as a logical choice to expand our presence in the region both because of the forward thinking and collaborative approach the government is taking and because of the rise in the demand for data centre space. We had a record last quarter in Sydney, including new contracts with the Department of Defence and NBN Co.  Sydney 2 will provide a vital new data centre resource in Sydney, attracting new customers and providing a growth path for existing customers in Sydney 1. There are a significant number of new data centre requirements in the market place, including from the NSW Government."

"As part of our commitment to energy efficiency and reducing our carbon emissions, Sydney 2 will be one of the most environmentally efficient data centres to be built.  By using a trigeneration system we expect to achieve around a 45 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to using conventional power from the electricity grid.  This feature, together with the overall scale and size of the building will result in the data centre being 3-4 times more efficient than multiple computer rooms built within other facilities".

Premier of New South Wales Kristina Keneally said "This project will generate millions of dollars of new investment, increase data centre infrastructure capability, and reinforce Sydney's role as a global financial and IT hub. Global Switch is the leading wholesale data centre provider in Asia Pacific and Europe, and I welcome their decision to expand their Sydney facility."

Treasurer and Minister for State and Regional Development Eric Roozendaal said "The data centre will accommodate the latest IT technologies in terms of power and cooling and will meet the highest environmental rating for any data centre in the world setting a new international benchmark".

Global Switch currently operates eight data centres across Asia-Pacific and Europe which total around 280,000 sq m of space and are occupied by internationally-renowned corporate tenants drawn primarily from the financial services, telecoms and data services sectors.  Again in response to strong growth in demand over the last few years, Global Switch is currently undertaking construction of a second data centre in Paris which will launch in Q3 2011 and create the city's leading data centre campus of 540,000 sq ft (50,000 sq m), and has just completed a 50,000 sq ft (4,700 sq m) extension to its Singapore centre with 4MW of power.

Global Switch is a Reuben Brothers company.