In collaboration with its customers and partners, Australian data centre builder and operator CDC announced plans to develop Western Australia’s largest AI and advanced technology data centre campus, delivering up to 200 MW of high-density capacity upon completion. It is the company’s first development in the state and it said it will spend AUD 415 million on the first stage of the data centre in Maddington, 20 km south-east of central Perth. The centre will be operational in 2026.
According to CDC, the expansion will significantly increase AI and advanced technology data centre capacity in the west, positioning Western Australia as a key player in Australia’s future of AI, innovation and security, and creating thousands of jobs. The project is designed to support the growing demand for sovereign, AI-ready infrastructure across the government, research, defence, technology and critical infrastructure sectors in the state.
The proposed campus will feature CDC’s state-of-the-art design, including advanced liquid cooling technologies, supporting ultra-high-density compute and AI capabilities, and CDC’s closed-loop system that features zero water consumption for primary cooling. The company said the facility will maintain its strong emphasis on sustainability, reflecting its net-zero goals, and is expected to attract significant investment and new customers to the region.
AUKUS angle
CDC CEO and founder Greg Boorer said: “Western Australia is an increasingly important region for national and regional security, and the future of AUKUS. We are looking forward to ensuring such customers have the capabilities in place where and when they need them to deliver on their critical missions and goals.”
He added: “Our vision for this project is to deliver more than just a data centre. We are envisioning a comprehensive technology campus, including state-of-the-art facilities, with the highest power densities for AI workloads at scale, secure office space, and a range of amenities designed to meet the diverse needs of our customers.”
The WA project comes amid a period of strong growth and investor confidence in CDC. In February 2025, Infratil and the Future Fund increased their stakes in the company, with Infratil exercising pre-emption rights to acquire a 12.04 per cent stake from the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, raising its holding to 49.75 per cent.
An independent valuation as at 30 June 2025 put the value of Infratil’s stake at between AUD 6.2 billion and AUD 7.36 billion, with a midpoint of AUD 6.75 billion, up from AUD 6.6 billion three months earlier. While CDC’s total equity valuation dipped slightly from AUD 13.7 billion to AUD 13.56 billion, the higher ownership offset this decline.
By June 2025, CDC had operational capacity of 372 MW and 453 MW under construction across its data centre networks in Melbourne, Auckland, Canberra and Sydney. The Maddington facility will add significant AI-ready capacity in the west.
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