Chief executive Dean Addie said enough land had been bought to start construction but he was not willing to disclose the land’s location yet, as the company was still in negotiations to buy four neighbouring parcels of land.
He hoped negotiations would be complete within the next three months and construction would be completed by the end of March next year.
"The data centre will not only offer state-of-the-art co-location data solutions but also serve as a catalyst for economic growth and environmental stewardship in the Southland community", Mr Addie said.
He believed the land purchase underscored the company’s commitment to the community as well as innovation and sustainability.
The initiative promised substantial benefits to the Southland community both during and after its construction.
He expected about 80 people would be involved during the construction phase.
The company was going through the design and consenting process.
Designs would focus on renewable energy and eco-conscious design, and maximise efficiency and performance.
The Invercargill data centre marked a historic milestone for New Zealand’s entire data infrastructure landscape.
The centre would initially house 1200 data racks, but its modular design would allow for expansion if needed, he said.
Auckland was currently the company’s largest data centre, but Invercargill, once complete, would be bigger.
Stable power supply was central to its operations.
T4’s website says a 96-hour power protection would be included in its designs.
As a tier4 centre, it needed to guarantee it would be operational more than 99% of the time, with only a maximum of 24 minutes downtime a year.
"Our customers cannot afford to have us down. So we will guarantee 100% up-time — that’s our promise", Mr Addie said.
Several power solutions, including solar, would be installed to ensure uninterrupted operations, he said.
"Our plan is to put solar power in to match our load."
Southland businessmen HWR Group chairman Reece Oliver and director Scott O’Donnell serve on the New Zealand-based company’s T4 Group board.
It had been proposed T4 would be based in Invercargill.
— Toni McDonald
