Construction begins on second Global Switch datacentre

The first stage of construction for Global Switch's new AU$300 million Sydney datacentre has finally begun.

The facility, once known as Sydney 2, was announced in late 2010 as part of the company's £1 billion expansion plan. Construction was intended to begin in mid-2011.

A Global Switch spokesperson told ZDNet that the company had "spent a considerable amount of time and investment" to shore up design plans, as well as to secure anchor tenants.

Now dubbed Sydney East, the 24,000 square metre datacentre is being built next to Global Switch's existing facility, Sydney West, adjacent to the Sydney CBD. Sydney West measures up at 42,000 square metres, making it the largest datacentre of its kind in Australia, according to the company.

Sydney East is being constructed with Green credentials in mind, with aims to achieve a LEED Gold rating.

Stage one consists of just one-third of the total construction work, and is slated to be completed by early 2014. Over 50 per cent of anchor tenants for stage one have been secured, with the remaining capacity expected to be sold before Sydney East goes live next year.

"Australia is an extremely attractive investment destination, given the growth in domestic demand in datacentre capacity and also the geo-political benefits it offers to multinational companies," Global Switch Executive Chairman John Corcoran said in a statement. "With the Asia-Pacific region at the centre of global growth, Australia is in a unique position as a safe and reliable location from which to service that market."

Global Switch opened its first Australian datacentre in 2002 and operates 290,000 square metres of datacentres globally.