ASX-listed data centre business NextDC (ASX:NXT) will build a $2 billion tech hub in Port Melbourne as part of the Victorian government’s Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct.
Named M4, it will be purpose-built for sovereign AI, high performance computing (HPC), advanced manufacturing and deep tech, with three core components: an AI factory to support NVIDIA’s Blackwell and Rubin Ultra architectures; a mission-critical operations centre for high-stakes digital operations from defence to enterprise and government, and a Technology Centre of Excellence – a national hub for AI skills, R&D, and innovation to support engineers, students, and startups to build and operate AI systems onshore.
The site, at 127 Todd Road, Port Melbourne, was where Australian media giants once printed newspapers. The 59,000 sq metre block last sold in 2019 for $55 million.
NextDC CEO Craig Scroggie said M4 will be a regional hub for hyperscale AI, defence workloads, and sovereign systems.
“M4 has been designed to meet the five critical imperatives for Australia’s AI future — speed, scale, sovereign capability, sustainability, and security,” said Scroggie.
“Compute is the new electricity. Just as electricity powered the industrial age, sovereign AI infrastructure will power the next one.”
M4 will be the anchor tenant at the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct, which is the state government says will support up to 30,000 jobs in science, technology, engineering and associated fields by 2051. It will include the University of Melbourne’s new Engineering and Design campus. RMIT will also be involved, along with national defence partners, plus AI and quantum research partners.
Victorian economic growth and jobs minister Danny Pearson said: “This project will create high-skilled jobs and lay the groundwork to support future developments in AI, advanced manufacturing and defence.”
Craig Scroggie said precincts create gravitational pull for investment, innovation and talent.
“By anchoring M4 at Fishermans Bend, we’re activating a nationally integrated ecosystem for industrial AI, defence, research, and deep tech,” he said.
“No one builds the future alone. M4 will be the convergence point for partners shaping Australia’s AI era — from NVIDIA’s global leadership to our top-tier universities, to defence leaders building sovereign capability. This is where intelligence infrastructure, collaboration, and execution meet.”
The M4 site will have up to 150MW of power across 50,000m² of facilities and liquid cooling systems to support HPC rack densities exceeding 1,000kW. They’ll be on-site solar and microgrids for energy sustainability, waste heat recovery for district-level energy reuse and recycled wastewater cooling.
The project still needs final design and development approval from the Victorian government, with the NextDC CEO hoping for sign off in early 2026 followed by an 18-month build to get things up and running in 2027.
The Brisbane-based company, founded by Bevan Slattery in 2010, now has 13 data centres in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra.
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