Macquarie Data Centres, Sydney and Canberra, Australia

Top-tier data centre solutions

Macquarie Data Centres, part of the ASX-listed Macquarie Technology Group, is one of Australia’s leading providers of data centre services and colocation, with three campuses strategically situated in Sydney and Canberra. They offer a suite of managed services and customised solutions, with the confidence of a 100% uptime guarantee for data centres, the highest level of security, sovereignty and compliance, and supported by over 200 NV1 Federal Government cleared engineers.

With the rapid growth in data centre demand, spurred by cloud migration, increased data usage, AI and digital transformation strategies, Macquarie Data Centres is well-positioned for continued demand for data centres in Australia.

Partnership built on trust

Linesight has been a key partner in Macquarie Data Centre’s (MDC) continuing success, working closely with their team to streamline design development and deliver exceptional, high-quality value to its customers (end users). As a trusted partner, Macquarie Data Centres look to Linesight for advice on budget and cost certainty, which are crucial to a successful project delivery, as well as insights around the latest market trends in the data centre space and construction industry.

IC3 East: Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus

IC3 East, the 5th data centre designed and built by MDC is known as home to the world’s biggest hyperscalers, large multi-nationals and the Australian Federal Government. The facility, located at their flagship Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus in Sydney’s North Zone, boasts a 1.28 PUE, 33 kV power design, and over 11,700 m2 of technical data hall space, with office and storage areas. The facility houses and protects IT infrastructure for hyperscale, wholesale, retail and government end-users.  

Linesight provided full cost management services, which involved both pre- (i.e., estimating, tender analysis, etc.) and post-contract services (i.e., cost reporting, progress claim recommendation, variation reviews and negotiations including for the final account). The high visibility of the project’s location presented some challenges including complexities for incoming services, which encouraged builders to consider high-tech solutions and methodologies to address the tight site constraints.

IC3 Super West

IC3 Super West is the third and largest addition to the Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus, bringing the total IT load up to 63MW. The facility is purpose-designed for high-density Cloud and AI workloads, including liquid cooling capacity. 

Linesight has provided our full range of Cost Management services throughout the pre-contract stage while also noting that Linesight was involved in the groundbreaking liquid cooling strategy as the facility’s design incorporates future proofing to accommodate the high-density power and cooling demands of Cloud and AI technology. 

IC5: Canberra Data Centre Campus

MDC’s Canberra Data Centre Campus, comprised of IC4 and IC5 Bunkers, is built for the Australian Federal Government and its partners. The IC5 Bunker was designed to achieve Tier IV data centre standards and enhanced security requirements. The facility is carrier-neutral with ICON connectivity. 

Linesight provided full Cost Management and OFCI Procurement Management services for the Canberra Data Centre campus, which involved providing Cost Plans for each phase of the project, cost advice for the feasibility and concept design, and analysis of CAPEX and OPEX for the shortlisted design solutions.

Linesight value add

Linesight provided Cost Management services across all three projects, which involved:

• Pre and post-contract cost advice including input for the feasibility study and concept design stages, with particular reference to providing necessary data to enable informed financial decisions to be made by MDC. 
• Preparation of detailed cost plans based on accurate industry data while also ensuring adequate risk provisions are catered for (i.e. inflation, site specific challenges, etc.). 
• Linesight has also developed a work breakdown structure (WBS), which has enabled MDC to roll out a more standardized costing across their portfolio of projects, while still accommodating customers individual needs.   
• Preparation of detailed cashflow forecasts along with independent benchmarking analysis.
• Regular monitoring and analysis of design costs against approved budgets.

Apart from cost advice and analysis, Linesight was also in involved in developing a procurement strategy, leveraging existing relationships to drive value whilst considering buildability from the outset. Further, since the majority of MDC projects have occurred within a live data centre facility at the time of construction, the Linesight team had to manage early works packages and work closely with suppliers to ensure optimal speed to market and minimise disruption to ongoing operations.

Linesight also produces construction market and commodity reports that provide valuable information on the impact of global events to the construction industry and the data centre space.

The successful delivery of projects, particularly in the middle of supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and other global geo-political tensions, is testament to the resilience and continuing growth of MDC and its enduring partnership with Linesight.

Declan Morley, Director – Cost Management, shared:

We have been working with Macquarie Data Centres since 2020 and I am particularly proud that our commitment to providing high-quality service has resonated well with their team. The knowledge and technical expertise in cost management, combined with data centre experience, of our best-in-class team has been invaluable to the delivery of this client’s projects across the country. We also provide industry advice and perspective, which are not only valuable to projects, but to their business as a whole. We look forward to our continued partnership with Macquarie Data Centres.