Equinix opens first xScale data centre in Western Sydney

Equinix has opened the first of its two planned Australian xScale data centres, SY9x, in Western Sydney.

The data centre currently offers over 14 megawatts (MW) of power capacity with the ability to rise to over 28MW when it’s fully built out.

Equinix Australia managing director Guy Danskine said the opening of SY9x is happening alongside the continued expansion of its International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre capacity across the country.

The data centre was originally planned to be opened in the first quarter of 2022, but was “slightly delayed due to a variety of issues that are beyond our control,” an Equinix spokesperson claimed.

“This is mainly attributed to the pandemic and its impact on the supply chain,” they added.

The data centre comes as part of a US$575 million joint venture with PGIM Real Estate, which also includes another xScale facility, named SY10x, and will together provide more than 55MW when both centres are completed.

Through SY9x and SY10x, Equinix claims hyperscale companies can add core deployments to their existing access footprints at Equinix IBX facilities, allowing these companies to grow across 70 global metro locations and direct interconnection to over 10,000 customers.

Under the terms of the deal, PGIM Real Estate will own an 80 per cent equity interest in the joint venture while Equinix will own the remaining 20 per cent.

NSW Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Stuart Ayres heralded joint venture between the two companies “[providing] essential digital infrastructure to the world’s largest cloud service providers and [helping] create jobs in our local communities”. 

“With unprecedented levels of cloud adoption further accelerating digital transformation across Australia, the decision to locate its first xScale data centre in Western Sydney illustrates the enormous enthusiasm from multinational companies to invest in our growing city,” he added.