AirTrunk has been confirmed as the company behind plans for a major global data centre campus in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, with the proposed development set to be located at 45 Donnybrook Road, Mickleham, about 35 kilometres north of the CBD.
The Asia-Pacific data centre operator this week confirmed it was progressing plans for the project, which first came to light in July following the lodgement of a planning application.
The proposal includes up to seven data centre buildings within the 67-hectare Fusion Business Park, owned by property group McMullin. AirTrunk has indicated the campus would have a total floor area of approximately 935,730 square metres.
The site is also located close to the Kalkallo Zone Substation, providing access to existing electricity infrastructure.
AirTrunk said the proposed campus would use air-based cooling technology and would not rely on community drinking water for cooling during normal operations. The company also said it would fund its own grid connection and support the delivery of new renewable energy projects.
While the developer was not identified in the original July application, a post by PwC had previously suggested AirTrunk could be behind the project. DataCenterMap, meanwhile, had listed the proposed development as a planned Amazon campus.
AirTrunk is planning community information sessions in November to outline the proposal and hear feedback from residents in Mickleham and surrounding suburbs.
The company’s associate vice president of social impact and community, Rob Bartrop, said the sessions would provide an opportunity for local residents and businesses to learn more about the development.
“We want to engage with people who live and work in Mickleham and the surrounding area,” Mr Bartrop said.
He said the company was committed to keeping residents informed and providing opportunities for local participation in training, employment and procurement, while also investing in community infrastructure across Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
This data centre is said to be one of 5 AWS Global AI Superhubs the other being located in India (within the region). This is a substantial development on a global scale further ensuring Melbourne remains the AI Capital of the region.
The hubs house AWS’s custom-built AWS Trainium accelerators (such as Trn2 and Trn3 UltraServers) alongside massive deployments of NVIDIA Blackwell architectures.
The most highly documented international AI Superhub location is the Mickleham campus in Melbourne, Australia at 1300MW.