Macquarie backs Zerra's proposed $31.9b Western Downs data centre
Macquarie Capital has invested in Zerra DC, the developer behind a proposed 1.44GW Western Downs campus reported at $31.9 billion. The DA is pending.
Macquarie Capital has invested in Zerra DC, the Singapore-based platform behind a proposed 1.44GW data centre campus in the Western Downs, reported at $31.9 billion at full build-out. The application is still before Western Downs Regional Council. It has not been approved.
For a Queensland builder, electrical contractor or civil subbie, a funded backer makes a staged build of about 1,500 construction jobs more likely, if council approves it.
Why it matters
Macquarie’s entry puts a major financier behind a proposal that would otherwise rest on a single developer’s balance sheet. The size of its stake was not disclosed. AGP, which founded Zerra, remains the majority shareholder, according to IPE Real Assets.
The site is 1933 Dalby-Kogan Road, about 37km north-west of Dalby and roughly 250km from Brisbane. It is currently the Wambo Cattle Company feedlot. Work of this scale pulls trades, plant and power gear away from the south-east corridor.
The numbers
The application proposes four 360MW buildings, together 1.44GW of IT capacity and about 195,000 sqm of floorspace, staged over four to six years. Planning documents also flag two further buildings, which would lift the campus to 2.16GW.
The economic assessment puts construction at $14.5 billion excluding GST. The $31.9 billion figure is reported at full build-out and is not the construction cost. The assessment also cites about $760 million a year in direct and indirect value added to Queensland once operating, about 1,500 construction jobs and about 1,400 on-site jobs.
Phase one includes a proposed 540MVA substation. The Braemar substation is about 600m away. The campus is proposed as air-cooled, with reticulated water about 15km off.
What’s next
Council must assess the application, lodged by project company WDDP Pty Ltd, before any approval. Watch for council’s decision, any state-level conditions on grid connection, and how the first stage is packaged for contractors. See our Queensland hub for related filings.