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Work has begun on a massive, 11,000sqm computer data centre in Highgate, Silverdale, which is expected to bring local employment, mainly in the construction phase.
By comparison, the Mighty Ape distribution centre, also in Silverdale, is 9000sqm.
The cloud computing facility, along with another in Hobsonville, is being built by Canberra Data Centres (CDC), which is 48 percent owned by Infratil, and represents an investment of more than $300 million.
In Australia, CDC partners with Microsoft. Auckland Council granted land use consent in August and earthworks are underway. It is expected that the centre at 29 and 31 Highgate Parkway could be ready for fit-out by the end of the 2022 financial year.
CDC notes that there is additional land in Highgate that could be progressively developed over time to support more demand.
Data centres are centralised locations for cloud computing and networking equipment so that large amounts of data can be stored and processed. The need for these centres has been powered by the Covid-19 related increase in people working from home using services such as Zoom – CDC expects this trend to continue.
The centres are known for their high demands on electricity, and generally employ low numbers of well-paid staff.
