Telstra denies pulling plug on AU$100m Clayton datacentre

Telstra has rejected a rumour that the company was pulling out of the AU$100 million Clayton datacentre project, stating that construction for one portion of the project had been delayed.

The telco announced in November 2012 that it was investing in the 2,000-square metre datacentre in Victoria as part of its overall AU$800 million cloud strategy. The investment is expected to create 500 jobs and the centre will be open in 2014. It is being constructed by Lend Lease.

This morning, a contractor speaking to radio station 3AW suggested that workers had been told to down tools for a meeting, as Telstra was reported to have pulled out of the project.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union told the ABC that investment funds had run out and 100 construction workers were out of a job as a result.

Telstra told ZDNet that it had no intention of pulling out of its investment.

"We have not pulled out of the Clayton datacentre build. The project continues, and has our full support," Telstra said in a statement. "We have slowed one part of the construction as we align various timings of the overall project build."

At the same time as work is underway in Clayton, Telstra is also expanding its three existing datacentres in Western Australia, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).