AirTrunk, the Asia-Pacific hyperscale data center developer, secured an A$4.25 billion green loan, about US$2.95 billion, to fund the next phase of its SYD3 campus in Western Sydney.
A group of 32 Australian and international financial institutions backed the facility, which AirTrunk said is among the largest lending syndicates assembled for a data center financing in Australia. Fourteen lead banks underwrote it: Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, DBS, Deutsche Bank, ING, Mizuho, MUFG, National Australia Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., HSBC and United Overseas Bank. SMBC, HSBC and UOB acted as green loan coordinators.
Debt load climbs toward A$40 billion
The new loan raises AirTrunk’s total committed debt financing to about A$38.4 billion, or roughly US$26.9 billion, worldwide, including more than A$19.8 billion for its Australian projects. The company runs five Australian campuses with more than 1.2 gigawatts of capacity, has invested more than A$12 billion in the country and plans to spend another A$75 billion there over the next decade.
Construction of the expanded SYD3 campus, led by builder A W Edwards, is underway and is expected to finish by mid-2028. AirTrunk says the project will support more than 10,000 jobs in construction, trades, engineering, logistics and safety, and it is staging equipment at a 25,000-square-meter site in Western Sydney and using chartered vessels to bring gear through Port Botany and Port Kembla.
Sustainability terms
The facility carries margin adjustments linked to sustainability terms, and any margin savings will be channeled into AirTrunk’s social impact program for causes including STEM education, digital equity, conservation and disaster relief. The company is targeting net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030 and is using lower-carbon steel and concrete at SYD3.
Mallesons advised AirTrunk, and Gilbert + Tobin advised the lenders. The financing is the latest in a string of large debt packages for AI-related infrastructure, as data center developers and cloud providers lean on banks and private lenders to fund their buildouts.
