Melbourne, Australia – AirTrunk, a hyperscale data centre developer and operator serving the APAC and ME regions, has secured a site in Melbourne’s north-west for its second data centre campus in the city, known as MEL2, further expanding its Australian platform.
The MEL2 development is planned to deliver more than 354MW of capacity and represents over A$5b in direct investment. Once operational, AirTrunk’s total deployable capacity in Melbourne will exceed 630MW, with combined investment across MEL1 and MEL2 expected to surpass A$7b.
The multi-stage project is forecast to generate more than 4,000 jobs during construction and over 200 ongoing roles once operational. Additional employment is anticipated across the local supply chain, with more than 1,000 full-time positions expected to support data centre operations.
“Australia has set bold ambitions to become a global AI hub, and demand for AI‑ready infrastructure continues to grow. MEL2 is part of our response,” Robin Khuda, founder & CEO of AirTrunk, stated.
He added, “Working closely with Invest Victoria, we’re expanding in Melbourne to support Australia’s AI future while creating new opportunities for local business and communities.”
MEL2 will complement AirTrunk’s existing Australian facilities, providing cloud and AI providers with increased geographic diversity across the Sydney and Melbourne markets. Upon completion, the company will operate five campuses nationally, delivering more than 1.2GW of combined capacity across its Sydney and Melbourne sites.
“Victoria is leading Australia’s digital transformation, and investments like this will strengthen our state’s position as a hub for cloud and AI innovation, create thousands of jobs, and deliver sustainable infrastructure that supports our growing technology ecosystem,” Hon. Jacinta Allan, Victorian Premier, commented.
The Melbourne expansion follows AirTrunk’s announcement of a new hyperscale campus in Osaka, Japan, which will deliver up to 100MW of IT load. Together, the Melbourne and Osaka developments will become AirTrunk’s 14th and 15th data centres, expanding its total platform capacity to more than 2.6GW across six markets, including Australia, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.
The investment aligns with Australia’s National AI Plan, released in late 2025, which sets out the country’s ambition to become a global hub for AI through infrastructure development, skills growth and responsible governance.
The data centre sector continues to play a growing role in Australia’s digital economy, generating significant economic value while maintaining relatively low water usage and supporting long-term investment in energy and recycled water infrastructure.
Founded in 2015, AirTrunk was an early adopter of the hyperscale data centre model in Australia and the wider APAC region and continues to deploy technologies designed to support high-density cloud and AI workloads.
