Will Macquarie’s New Data Centre Meet Australia's AI Demand?

Macquarie Data Centres has reached a major construction milestone on its newest hyperscale facility, IC3 Super West, a site designed specifically to handle the increasing demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The New South Wales (NSW) Treasurer, Hon. Daniel Mookhey MP, marked the occasion by pouring the final concrete to complete the building’s external structure or ‘topping out’ the facility.

The 47MW data centre, located in Sydney’s north zone, is on track to open in September 2026. It is set to be the only new facility delivering AI-ready capacity to the region next year.

The project is a key part of Macquarie Data Centres’ wider 200MW development plan, aimed at supporting hyperscalers, enterprises and Neoclouds that require high-density environments for GPUs and high-performance computing.

Sydney’s AI and cloud infrastructure expansion

Sydney is reinforcing its status as a primary hub for cloud and digital services in the Asia Pacific region. The development of IC3 Super West, with its end-state power already secured, responds to the rapidly growing demand for AI infrastructure in what is a constrained Tier 1 market.

The NSW Government's new Investment Delivery Authority has been established to fast-track future technology infrastructure projects, which includes Macquarie Data Centres’ announced plan for a 150MW site.

This combination of sovereign capability, hyperscale demand and government support is encouraging further investment into AI-optimised data centre capacity.

NSW Treasurer Hon. Daniel Mookhey MP says: “Companies like Macquarie Data Centres keep investing, keep expanding, and keep believing that NSW can be a global home for high-tech infrastructure. And it happens because the government has chosen to take planning and investment delivery seriously.”

Daniel adds that the facility will have a far-reaching impact: “In the years ahead, thousands of businesses will run smarter because this building exists. Research will accelerate because this building exists. AI capability will expand because this building exists. And NSW will be more competitive – globally competitive – because this building exists.”

Designed for high-density AI requirements

IC3 Super West will be the third facility on Macquarie Data Centres’ 65MW Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus. It is designed to accommodate the latest AI and GPU cluster needs, featuring a hybrid mix of air and liquid cooling technologies.

This includes direct-to-chip solutions, which are suitable for extreme rack densities. Such capabilities are becoming essential as both hyperscale and enterprise customers deploy larger AI models that demand sustained power and efficient thermal performance.

The facility’s engineering is focused on ensuring stability in these high-density environments.

“IC3 Super West is the next data centre in our pipeline of sites planned to add circa 200MW of AI and cloud capacity in Sydney,” says David Hirst, Group Executive at Macquarie Data Centres.

“Demand for high-density AI infrastructure is the most important megatrend we’ve seen in over 25 years in the data centre industry,” David explains.

“IC3 Super West, opening in Q3 2026, is purpose-built for the high-density power and liquid cooling demands of new AI technology. Sovereign data centres keep Australia competitive in the global market and are the foundation of our AI future.”

Investment and strategic capacity delivery

The initial phase of the IC3 Super West project represents an investment of approximately AUD$350m (US$229.4m). This first stage will deliver the complete core and shell of the building, along with 6MW of fitted IT load.

This allows for early customer occupancy before the facility reaches its full capacity. The design aligns with the industry movement towards liquid cooling as a standard for AI infrastructure, caused by the heat generated by next-generation accelerators.

The secured power envelope allows customers to plan for predictable scaling and long-term deployments.

As demand for sovereign high-performance and AI-optimised data centres grows, IC3 Super West gives Macquarie Data Centres a strategically positioned, fully powered development.

The upcoming construction stages will concentrate on finishing the internal fit-outs, installing the advanced cooling systems and preparing the facility for its operational launch in Q3 2026, meeting the escalating needs of hyperscale and enterprise clients in Australia.