Big tech park plans for Toowoomba

An ‘ideas boom’ may soon be hitting Toowoomba, with the announcement of plans to establish a technology park that would also become home to one of Australia’s first regional data centres — the Pulse Data Centre.

The centrepiece of the park, the Pulse Data Centre, will feature a highly resilient Tier 3 design with incremental capacity up to 50 mW, providing prime data centre capacity and business continuity protection to corporate and government clients.

“Pulse Data Centre will rival leading data centres in Australia’s capital cities for connectivity, resilience and security. Technology will supercharge many industries and this data centre will play an important role in ensuring the benefits of the innovation boom extend from city to country,” said Peter Blunt, Pulse Data Centre general manager.

Construction and engineering firm FKG Group has lodged an application with Toowoomba Regional Council for approval of the new 29-hectare technology park at Witmack Road, approximately 140 km west of Brisbane.

“The application lodged includes a large co-location data centre, wholesale data centre capability, research incubator, disaster recovery space, start-up offices and service facilities, with room for further expansion within the park,” said Dallas Hunter, group manager – property developments for the FKG Group.

“Importantly for Toowoomba, this new technology industry hub is expected to generate significant employment opportunities in information, media, telecommunications and agricultural technology, resulting in an estimated 5000 new jobs as we tap into growing demand from Australia and Asia.”

The FKG Group said its move to establish one of the largest technology parks outside the capital cities will act as a significant boost to regional Australia, potentially revolutionising the technology-driven industry. With high power capacity and a large available footprint, the park will offer multiple-tier levels and tailored security requirements for clients.

Since receiving preliminary approval in December 2015, the FKG Group has been finalising and detailing the design of the park and negotiating with potential clients and interested tenants.

Subject to regulatory approvals, construction is expected to start in August, with completion, testing and commissioning to be finalised by early 2017.

Image courtesy of FKG Group