Singapore-based Alpha Data Centre Fund has acquired a freehold site, Gore Hill Technology Park, on Sydney’s lower north shore to house its first data centre development in Australia.
The unlisted fund, established by Keppel Capital with backing from Canada Public Pension Investment Plan (CPPIB), paid more than A$30m (€18.2m) for the site, which is part of the wider Gore Hill estate.
Alpha declined to discuss the development cost of the project.
When offering the site for sale, owner Lindsay Bennelong said it had development approval for a 4-level, 13,998sqm designed and engineered data centre facility with an end value “in excess of A$100m”.
It will be located adjacent to Gore Hill Data Centre, an existing facility owned by the listed Keppel DC REIT, a sister trust to the Alpha Data Centre Fund.
Construction will take place over three phases, with the first set to be completed by the first half of 2021.
Keppel Data Centres Holding will be appointed project manager for the construction, and will be responsible for its operations on completion.
Alvin Mah, CEO of Alpha, said: “By leveraging Keppel Data Centres’ deep operational expertise, our newest data centre will be well-positioned to capture data centre demand and deliver optimal returns for our investors.”
Wong Wai Meng, CEO of Keppel Data Centres, said the development builds on Keppel Data Centres’ commitment to support customer expansion needs and to help them capitalise on opportunities offered by digitalisation and cloud-adoption.
The Alpha Fund, managed by Alpha Investment Partners, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Capital. It was launched in 2015 and in 2017 received a US$350m injection from CPPIB, with CPPIB holding an option to invest a further US$150m.
It has already made investments in Singapore and Europe and is expected to acquire up to US$1bn in greenfield and brownfield assets in Asia-Pacific and Europe.
