Australia's NEXTDC announced on Wednesday the commencement of construction on a new data centre in Darwin. The company is building the D1 Darwin Data Centre, an AUD 80 million infrastructure project that will accommodate approximately 1,500 racks and support up to an 8 MW IT load.
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Digital Infrastructure for Progress
Initially announced in 2021, the infrastructure work is a significant step forward for the Northern Territory's digital economy. The project is conveniently located within walking distance from the new Charles Darwin University CBD campus and is being constructed by Kapitol Group NT. Furthermore, this development is expected to generate around 200 jobs in the area, said the statement.
D1 Darwin Data Centre
The new NEXTDC data centre is poised to provide critical digital infrastructure supporting businesses and government at all levels. Additionally, it will feature an innovation center offering collaborative spaces to empower Territory technology innovators, startups, and growth companies.
According to the company's website, the D1 Darwin Data Centre will span 3,000 sqm with an 8 MW IT capacity and a housing capacity of 1,000 racks. The first stage of D1 Darwin is projected to be operational by mid-2024.
NEXTDC emphasised, "This data centre will be a first-of-its-kind for Darwin, empowering the Northern Territory economy with world-class digital infrastructure. It will provide secure, low-latency access to global cloud platforms to fully leverage the benefits of technological innovation, such as Gen A.I, automation, and robotics."
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Domestic and Subsea Cable Connectivity
D1 Darwin will be connected to domestic and subsea cables through Vocus' Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore sub-sea cable project, which was activated earlier this year, as reported by TelecomTalk. The statement also highlighted the anticipation of new subsea and terrestrial cables in Darwin over the next few years, supporting the future expansion as NEXTDC progresses through the remaining planned stages of this critical infrastructure facility.
According to NEXTDC, there is already significant customer interest in D1 Darwin, with the facility expected to bolster strong growth for the digital economy in the region.
