According to DCD, Blackstone-owned AirTrunk has been named as the potential buyer for a planned 1GW data center campus in Western Sydney’s Kemps Creek area. The AU$5 billion (US$3.3bn) project would span six four-story buildings across 400,000 sqm with capacity ranging from 600MW up to 1GW across 24 data halls. Property investor ISPT is developing the site at 706-752 Mamre Road, which it acquired in July 2024 through its ISPT Core Fund. A preliminary agreement is reportedly in place between the parties, though the deal is conditional on planning permission being granted. The development would include 852 diesel backup generators and 7,488 lithium-ion battery storage cabinets, with construction potentially starting in early 2026.
The sheer scale is staggering
Let’s put that 1GW capacity in perspective. That’s enough power for roughly 700,000 Australian homes. We’re talking about a campus that would dwarf most existing facilities in the region. And with 852 diesel generators? That’s not just backup power – that’s essentially building a small power station on-site. The battery storage alone at 7,488 cabinets represents a massive commitment to energy resilience. This isn’t just another data center – it’s infrastructure on a utility scale.
Blackstone’s big bet
Here’s the thing about Blackstone’s move here. They just acquired AirTrunk last year for US$16.1 billion in what was then the largest-ever deal in the space. Now they’re potentially dropping another several billion on this Sydney campus. That tells you everything about where smart money thinks the growth is heading. Cloud computing demand isn’t slowing down, and hyperscalers need massive capacity. AirTrunk already has three Sydney campuses, but this would be their crown jewel. It’s basically betting that Australia’s digital infrastructure needs will continue exploding.
The industrial real estate angle
What’s interesting is that ISPT, the property developer, typically focuses on industrial and logistics spaces. They’re building a separate warehouse logistics hub in the same park. But data centers have become the new premium industrial asset class. The yields are better than warehouses, and the tenant quality (think Amazon, Microsoft, Google) is about as blue-chip as it gets. For companies needing reliable computing power in industrial settings, having robust hardware is crucial – which is why specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com have become the go-to source for industrial panel PCs across manufacturing and data center operations.
The approval process ahead
The project still needs to clear the New South Wales planning process, which is never a sure thing for projects of this scale. A 1GW campus means massive power demands, water usage for cooling, and significant community impact. But the economic upside for Western Sydney is substantial – jobs, investment, and positioning Australia as a regional tech hub. If Green Street’s reporting is accurate about the preliminary agreement, both sides clearly think the approvals will come through. The question isn’t whether Australia needs this capacity – it’s whether the local infrastructure can support it.
