Cawley Road datacentre construction overview

May 2023 – Progress update

Building one

The structural work for this first building is now complete and interior work for datacentre is currently underway.

Building two

Structural works on the datacentre building and substation will begin soon. The substation will be housed within the site boundaries and will meet all Australian and EPA guidelines and regulations.

As these works progress, the local community may see an increase in construction traffic and equipment deliveries. Traffic management will be implemented to support the flow of traffic when required. Staff parking is available on site to reduce traffic impacts. The Community Engagement team will liaise with our neighbours to provide early notice of disruptive works.

Stay connected

If you have questions relating to this project, please contact our Community Engagement team by emailing MelDCcommunities@erm.com or calling 0422 251 874.

December 9th, 2022 – Site clearing notification

Teams are continuing to clear the site by removing materials from the demolished warehouse.  To ensure the health and safety of our workers and the community, our partners at Kapitol Group continue to implement and follow health and safety standards during this stage of the process. To minimize disruption to the community, construction work will not be performed earlier than 7am.

Staying connected 

 We will keep the community up to date via our “Microsoft in your community” page at https://local.microsoft.com/communities/asia-pacific/australia/ 

 For community related questions, contact us at MelDC@Microsoft.com 

 If you have operational questions, you can also reach Robert Jordan at Kapitol Group by calling, 0411 772 241 

For PR related questions, contact the Microsoft Media Hotline: +61 2 8281 3830 

December 5th, 2022 – Breaking ground with community leaders at Melbourne datacentre sites

On December 5, 2022, Microsoft and our construction partners welcomed local community leaders to groundbreaking ceremonies at three of our Melbourne datacentre locations: Garden Drive, Cawley Road, and Woods Road. Together with our general contractors, Kapitol Group and BESIX Watpac, and our partners, AusNet Services, Aurecon, ERM, and Turner & Townsend, we honored members of the Hume Council, Maribyrnong Council, Wyndham Council, and Invest Victoria to these three sites to mark the commencement of construction.

Wurundjeri Traditional Owners opened the groundbreaking events with Welcome to Country (Tanderrum) and Smoking Ceremonies.

The Melbourne datacentres will help provide the physical infrastructure for the technology we depend on at work and in our personal lives. Cloud services play an increasingly significant role in our lives – enabling remote work and learning, global collaboration, and business continuity; supporting discovery and innovation; and importantly, powering critical life and safety services. Microsoft datacentres support a wide spectrum of crucial services in Australia, from the lifesaving work of doctors and first responders to essential services like groceries and online banking.

Microsoft has operated in Australia for 39 years, and we continue to invest in the region and the ecosystem of partners and technology providers we rely on to meet the demand of delivering fast, reliable, and sustainable cloud services.

Microsoft is committed to the long-term health of the communities in which we operate and where our employees live and work.

October 26, 2022 – Datacenter pre-construction project overview

Microsoft will enter into the next stage of construction by starting work on the physical structure for the Cawley Road datacentre in October 2022. As such community members may start to see construction site activity increase. The datacentre construction site is located in the Yarraville inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Why datacentres are needed

Datacentres provide the physical infrastructure for the technology we depend on at work and in our personal lives. Whenever you open an app on your phone, join a virtual classroom or meeting, snap and save photos, or play a game with your friends online, you are using a datacentre. Local businesses, government, hospitals, and schools rely on datacentres every day to deliver you goods and services.

Construction timeline

Datacentre construction will occur between October 2022 through early 2024.

There was an existing warehouse in this industrial precinct which has been demolished, and construction will now be progressing to the underground cable installation.

Together with our general contractor, Kapitol Group, we will take all the necessary considerations to ensure that the environment and community are disturbed as little as possible during the entire construction period.

We will keep neighbours informed in advance of key construction events, including traffic mitigation plans, and will perform work within the hours detailed in our planning approval conditions.  Should there be any significant disruptions, we will notify the local community in advance to reduce any potential impacts.

Also, we will consistently, during the course of construction,  verify that our contractors’ Construction Environmental Management Plans capture the appropriate clean-up and reinstatement expectations.

Staying connected

We will keep the community up to date via our “Microsoft in your community” page at https://local.microsoft.com/communities/asia-pacific/australia/

For community related questions, contact us at MelDC@Microsoft.com

If you have operational questions, you can also reach Kapitol Group at Belinda.roberts@kapitolgroup.com.au

For PR related questions, contact the Microsoft Media Hotline: +61 2 8281 3830