Data centre gives $150m boost to Melbourne’s west
The Victorian Coalition Government has welcomed the construction of a $150 million data centre in Derrimut that will stimulate widespread economic activity in Victoria.
Opening the facility today, Technology Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips said the centre was a further boost to Victoria's vibrant technology sector.
The M2 site was designed, constructed and operated by Metronode, a subsidiary of Leighton Contractors, and covers more than 25,000 square metres.
"This facility is one of the largest independent data centres in Australia," Mr Rich-Phillips said.
"Metronode's investment strengthens Melbourne's reputation as a leader in information and communication technology (ICT) and cloud computing, and will allow tenants to provide quality secure solutions for Victorian customers.
"The site will provide state-of-art technical space for customers across Australia and the creation of new sustainable jobs in the security, maintenance and service of these facilities."
Mr Rich-Phillips said more than 200 jobs were created during the construction of the M2 data centre.
"The centre will create new, highly skilled Metronode jobs and support hundreds of new spill-over ICT jobs in Victoria," Mr Rich-Phillips said.
"The site is the first of Metronode's next-generation facilities in Australia, which is accredited as a Tier III facility and utilises ground-breaking free cooling technology.
M2 is a physically secure facility with state-of-the-art power and cooling architecture that will accommodate over 12MW of IT load at full capacity.
M2 is on the Australian Government panel and its customers will include large corporate clients and state and federal government agencies.
Mr Rich-Phillips said the Coalition Government was investing $85 million to attract new ICT expertise and encourage business growth.
"Last financial year the Coalition Government helped to create more than 1,300 jobs in the Victorian ICT sector," Mr Rich-Phillips said.
