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Data centre services provider NEXTDC has turned the soil on the $80 million D1 Darwin data centre, providing infrastructure for the Northern Territory’s Digital Territory Action Plan.
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NEXTDC officially began development on the $80 million D1 Darwin data centre facility, the first-of-its-kind for Darwin, with a targeted completion and launch in June 2024. The facility was built in collaboration with its partner Kapitol Group.
The data centre will reportedly enable the Northern Territory economy with modern digital infrastructure, combined with secure, low-latency access to global cloud platforms to fully maximise the benefits of technology innovation such as general artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics.
D1 Darwin incorporates a 3,000-square metre technical space, 1,500 rack capacity, and 2,000-square metre mission critical space among other features.
In addition, the construction of D1 Darwin is expected to create more than 200 jobs in the region throughout the life of the project and into the daily operation of the facility.
“As our flagship data centre in NT, D1 Darwin forms part of NEXTDC’s strategy to leverage the next frontier of Edge computing and for the region, it is a big step towards national digital equity,” according to NEXTDC chief executive officer Craig Scroggie.
“Its proximity to Darwin’s CBD and direct access to the major submarine cable infrastructure, means legacy industries such as mining and resources alongside the emerging defence sector can have real-time responsiveness to operational and mission-critical needs, fully capturing the value of emerging technologies.”
The company has previously partnered with the Northern Territory government to accelerate regional economic development through investment in technological infrastructure and advancements.
D1 Darwin, with a projected 8MW capacity, is expected to enhance the Northern Territory’s Digital Territory Action Plan by providing the crucial digital infrastructure to unlock new opportunities for NT’s growing digital industry and more broadly, contributing to its $40 billion 2030 economic outlook.
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Natasha Fyles said getting the build of D1 Darwin underway is an exciting step for the future of Northern Territory’s digital economy, which will give many organisations in the region the opportunity to empower and activate their digital transformation strategies.
“Offering uninterrupted critical connectivity and cloud services to Northern Territory businesses and government will significantly boost the capability of what they are offering to their customers and stakeholders,” Chief Minister Fyles said.
Australian specialist fibre and network solutions provider Vocus is also partnering with NEXTDC at the D1 facility, integrating its Terabit Territory fibre network within the data centre to connect secure, high-capacity networks to the region, as well as direct and secure access to Southeast Asia via the Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable project.
“D1 Darwin is a critical infrastructure facility which will play an integral role in Vocus’ network investments – supporting all levels of Government as well as Enterprise customers in the resources sector,” according to Vocus chief executive officer Ellie Sweeney.
“D1 Darwin will establish a major data centre in Australia’s north connecting to Vocus’ new Darwin-Jakarta-Singapore Cable (DJSC) submarine system, which lands our secure digital infrastructure in Perth, Port Hedland, Darwin, and Southeast Asia.”
Construction of D1 Darwin will be completed by Kapitol Group which will mark the organisation’s first major interstate project since completing more than 15 projects with NEXTDC.
“We are excited to work with NEXTDC to deliver the Northern Territory a critical piece of infrastructure for the region,” according to Kapitol Group director Andrew Deveson.
“We have been working with NEXTDC on many projects with great success and it is our intent to achieve the same with D1 Darwin.”
