AGP’s Zerra Files A$14.5B Plan for 1.44GW Data Centre Campus in Queensland
Zerra DC, the data centre arm of Singapore-based AGP Sustainable Real Assets, has filed plans for a 1.44-gigawatt campus in rural Queensland with an estimated construction cost of A$14.5 billion. The Western Downs Digital Park would be Australia’s largest data centre campus, built in stages on a 726
Zerra DC, the data centre unit of Singapore-based AGP Sustainable Real Assets, has filed a development application for a 1.44-gigawatt campus in rural Queensland at an estimated construction cost of A$14.5 billion ($10.4 billion). The project, named Western Downs Digital Park, represents a development of unprecedented scale for Australia’s digital infrastructure sector.
The development application calls for four 360-megawatt data centre buildings to be built in stages on a 726 hectare (1,793 acre) site, with construction likely to take four to six years. An economic assessment prepared by consultancy Urbis estimates that the completed campus could support 1,400 direct operational jobs and contribute A$760 million a year to Queensland’s economy.
“The proposed Western Downs Digital Park represents a nationally significant digital infrastructure project that will establish Australia’s largest data centre campus,” Urbis said in the filing. The site, 37 kilometres (23 miles) northwest of the town of Dalby, is near three gas-fired power stations, a solar farm and the Braemar transmission substation, within a Western Downs energy region hosting an estimated 5.4GW of generation and storage capacity, according to the project website.
Under the plan, the campus would connect directly to Queensland’s high-voltage transmission network through customer-owned switching stations operating at 275kV and 330kV, rather than drawing from the local distribution system serving homes and businesses. The project website describes the facilities as 100 percent air-cooled, eliminating the need for evaporative cooling, while the filing identifies rainwater, recycled water, processed water from nearby gas operations and an existing dam among the proposed sources. Construction would nevertheless require 522 kilolitres of water daily, compared with regular operational consumption of 16.5 kilolitres, according to ABC News.
The main planning report estimates that the proposal will deliver A$31.9 billion in private capital investment, without going into further detail. Technical appendices also describe an electrical design for six 360MW buildings totalling 2.16GW, despite the operative master plan, economic study and transport assessment specifying four buildings and 1.44GW.
The proposal comes as Australia’s federal and state governments clash over planned national standards for large AI data centres. Federal authorities want new facilities to underwrite additional renewable generation and firming capacity, pay the grid costs they create and minimise water consumption, while Queensland favours a technology-neutral framework that would allow continued reliance on coal and gas. Western Downs mayor Andrew Smith said water, power and geography were the key issues being raised by residents as the project enters the consultation process.
AGP unveiled Zerra in January as a rebranding of the group’s data centre business, with the platform focused on developing and operating hyperscale campuses across Australia and the wider Asia Pacific region. The launch came a little over two years after US infrastructure fund manager Stonepeak agreed to make a strategic preferred investment of up to $650 million in AGP to expand the manager’s businesses and pursue new ventures. At the time of the 2023 investment, AGP had invested in 310MW of data centre capacity through a $2 billion India joint venture with Stonepeak-backed operator Digital Edge and the country’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.
