Norwest is the first of a series of data center projects TRE is planning to roll out in the next few years.

According to reports by IDG, the "state-of-the-art" facility will be the first of its kind in the Australian market, spanning a little more than 32,000 square feet of "energy-efficient data storage space." The new facility is expected to open for business in the first quarter of 2009.

TRE, which is Working on the Norwest project with European data storage infrastructure provider Galileo Connect, says the Norwest facility will consist of three $47.3 million data centers, each standing at a little more than 10,000 square feet.

Stephen Ellis, a director for TRE, says that most Australian data centers are more than 20 years old and aren't doing a sufficient job of supporting the technical needs of most new technologies. This has prompted a demand for newer facilities from a "growing number of multinational companies operating in Sydney."

Based on the strong interest in the Norwest project, Ellis says TRE has also moved to the initial planning phase of development for a second facility in Sydney.

IDG says TRE is also part of a consortium with Galileo Connect and Australian utilities provider ActewAGL proposing a $1.8 billion gas-powered data center in Canberra. If approved, this facility will be developed over the next decade, with the first stage opening in 2009.

This news comes in a week filled with data center openings - on Wednesday web hosting provider SoftLayer opened a new facility in the Washington D.C. area. Earlier in the week, Global Crossing announced that it planned to open a new data center in the UK.