$600m data centre for Belmont

What could be the state’s largest data centre is planned on Abernethy Road in Belmont, in a $600 million development.

It would add to the ongoing expansion of computing infrastructure in Perth, with the centres used to process or store large amounts of data for organisations which lease the space.

The two-stage Belmont project will be built in the city’s industrial district at 37 Abernethy Road.

Documents were submitted to the City of Belmont in July, and the plans will eventually head to the Development Assessment Panel.

The project is to be developed by a new data centre provider, GreenSquareDC Pty Limited.

While information on the business is limited, there is a company of that name registered with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, and Sydney-based property developer Walt Coulston is listed as a director.

The Belmont facility will be rated at 96 megawatts once fully complete, substantially bigger than the 20MW NextDC data centre on Newcastle Street.

“The size of data centres is typically measured in power consumption, with the proposed centre aiming to be a 96-megawatt facility at final build out – making it the largest in Western Australia to date,” according to planning documents. 

“The proposal will be a catalyst for change as the area seeks to develop as a ‘mixed business’ precinct with more offices and commercial activity, with other businesses seeking to co-locate with the development.”

City of Belmont Chief Executive Officer John Christie said the application would be determined by the Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel.

“The development application was recently publicly advertised to surrounding properties,” Mr Christie said. 

“City officers will now be preparing a Responsible Authority Report outlining an assessment of the proposal and a final recommendation. 

“This report will be submitted to the Joint Development Assessment Panel in due course.”

GreenSquareDC’s proposal said data centres will have increased demand as technology innovation advances, and will be key infrastructure for the business community.

NextDC opened its Northbridge data centre in 2020.

Earlier this year, cloud service provider Amazon said it planned to upgrade its offering in Perth, Brisbane, and Auckland through infrastructure development.