AirTrunk secures A$4.25b green loan for Western Sydney data centre expansion

AirTrunk has secured a A$4.25 billion green loan to fund the continued development of its SYD3 hyperscale campus in Western Sydney, in what the company described as one of the largest lending groups assembled for a data centre financing in Australia.

A consortium of 32 local and international financial institutions backed the facility, which carries margin adjustments tied to sustainability performance.

AirTrunk said any savings from those margin adjustments will be directed to its social impact programme supporting local charities working across STEM education, digital equity, biodiversity and conservation, sustainable innovation and disaster relief.

The SYD3 campus will add capacity for cloud, AI and enterprise workloads. Construction, led by A W Edwards, is underway, with completion expected by mid-2028. The project is expected to support more than 10,000 jobs across construction, trades, engineering, logistics and safety.

The deal brings AirTrunk's total committed debt financing to approximately A$38.4 billion (US$26.9 billion) globally, including more than A$19.8 billion across its Australian projects. The company said it has invested over A$12 billion in Australian projects to date and plans to invest a further A$75 billion over the next decade.

Its Australian platform spans five campuses with more than 1.2GW of capacity.

The green loan structure supports AirTrunk's target of net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030. Construction measures at SYD3 include the use of lower-carbon steel and concrete, and a target to divert at least 90 per cent of non-hazardous construction waste from landfill.

In FY26, the company worked with 1,436 supplier entities across APAC, including 615 in Australia, accounting for A$3.4 billion in supplier activity. For the campus itself, the company is using a 25,000 sqm buffer zone in Western Sydney to stage and pre-commission equipment, with dedicated time-charter vessels strengthening the supply chain through Port Botany and Port Kembla.

"SYD3 is a long-term investment in Western Sydney and Australia's digital capability, backed by the confidence of leading Australian and international banks," said Tom Mackellar, vice president of origination and market expansion at AirTrunk.

"As the campus develops, it’s building a regional ecosystem through active hiring, sustained project activity and strategic supply chain partnerships - creating opportunities for local workers, contractors and businesses while delivering infrastructure Australians increasingly rely on."

AirTrunk said it will continue to support workforce development at SYD3 through apprenticeships, partnerships with vocational education providers and post-trade upskilling, including participation in a national skills advisory group.

In July, AirTrunk received $US2.3 billion (A$3.3 million) under its Green Financing Framework to build its JHB2 hyperscale data centre campus in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.