Goodman Group drops $798M Sydney data centre

• Goodman Group cancelled plans to build a 90-megawatt data centre in Sydney’s Lane Cove following local council and public pushback.
• State and federal government scrutinies, including proposed residential buffer zones, contributed to the developer stepping away from the project.
• The industrial property giant continues to maintain a substantial global data centre development pipeline despite the regional setback.

Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) has withdrawn its development application for a proposed $798 million data centre project in Sydney.

The decision follows increased regulatory scrutiny, including a Senate enquiry appearance and new Victorian policy proposals restricting facilities within 150m of residential areas.

“Having considered emerging federal and state policy, Goodman has concluded that it will not progress with the development application,” said Goodman Group Head of Planning Guy Smith.

The project, known as Project Mars, was slated to deliver a 90-megawatt facility bordering a residential neighbourhood in Lane Cove.

Following the announcement, the Goodman Group share price was down at $26.30.

The company stated that data centre developments currently account for 78% of its global $19.7 billion development pipeline.

Goodman Group stated that its global power bank sits at 6.4 gigawatts across 16 major international cities as part of its ongoing expansion strategy.