Canberra Data Centres (CDC) has started construction on a new 20 megawatt $150 million facility to meet growing demand for data services in the capital.

CDC is one of Australia’s largest owners and operators of data centre capacity and holds large volumes of government data. 

Known as Fyshwick 2, the new facility brings CDC's investment in the ACT to more than $500 million over the past 10 years.  It will be CDC's fifth data centre in the region, with three data centres in Hume and one other in Fyshwick. Fyshwick 2 is expected to create 100 new jobs and is slated to launch in 2018.

Microsoft, one of CDC’s partner companies, is also on track to launch two of its Azure data centres in Canberra. The company recently announced two new regions based in CDC’s Hume and Fyshwick facilities. They are expected to go live in the first half of 2018.

Microsoft Azure head of global infrastructure Tom Keane welcomed CDC's expansion, describing Australia as a “critical cloud market” for Microsoft. “We’re delighted to be partnering with a locally owned provider with deep roots across government to further extend the reach of our cloud, and to provide the full innovation of Azure to Australian and New Zealand Government customers and partners,” he said.