NextDC shares down after $2b Melbourne AI hub announced
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The news: Shares in NextDC slipped after the company committed $2 billion to build a data centre and research and development hub at Fishermans Bend in Melbourne.
The numbers: Shares were 0.7% lower at $13.84 at 1:42pm AEST.
The context: The new M4 Melbourne development will be at the former Westgate Park Printing Complex, a part of the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct. The company hopes to get development approval early next year before spending 18 months building the facility.
It will feature up to 150MW of power across the 50,000 square metre facility including a new data centre — dubbed an AI Factory — with a rack density of 1,000kW designed to support AI production.
An always-on ‘mission critical’ operations centre suitable for government and Defence use will also be built alongside a technology centre of excellence that will facilitate AI skills development as well as research and development activity.
The proposed data centre will be liquid cooled using recycled wastewater and feature waste heat recovery for district-level energy reuse. It will also feature on-site solar and a microgrid.
What they said: “Precincts matter. They create the gravitational pull for investment, innovation, and talent. By anchoring M4 at Fishermans Bend, we’re activating a nationally integrated ecosystem for industrial AI, defence, research, and deep tech,” NextDC chief executive Craig Scroggie said.
The sources: NextDC media release, Victorian government media release
