SHAPE wins major DigiCo data centre expansion

SHAPE secures major SYD1 expansion

SHAPE Australia Corporation Limited (ASX:SHA) has won an approximately $800 million contract from DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (ASX:DGT) to expand the SYD1 data centre campus in Sydney by 52 MW. The award will push SHAPE’s work in hand above $1.4 billion, giving the construction specialist a substantial new revenue stream before the project has even begun.

The expansion will take SYD1’s total capacity to 88 MW, combining the site’s existing 16 MW with the 20 MW Stage 1 upgrade recently completed by SHAPE and the newly awarded 52 MW capacity. Works are expected to start immediately, with the project contributing materially to revenue in FY27 and FY28.

Repeat work follows completed Stage 1 upgrade

SHAPE said it secured the project on the strength of its delivery of the Stage 1 upgrade at the same campus. The contract was developed through an Early Contractor Involvement process, under which the parties worked through the scope, design, programme and price before the formal award.

The appointment is a fixed-price lump-sum Design and Construct contract. The work involves adaptively reusing an existing data centre asset with approved grid capacity, water access and State Significant Development Approval already in place, rather than developing a greenfield site. That established base may simplify the starting conditions, although the announcement does not disclose project margins, payment terms, detailed completion dates or cost-escalation provisions.

Data centres become a larger growth pillar

Chief executive Peter Marix-Evans described the award as an important milestone in SHAPE’s growth and diversification strategy, saying the contract broadened the company’s portfolio across sectors, clients and project types. He also said data centres were an important strategic growth sector, alongside SHAPE’s established fitout and refurbishment work and its expanding capabilities in new build and modular construction.

The size of the award is notable against SHAPE’s existing project base, but contract value is not the same as profit. The next meaningful evidence will come from mobilisation, delivery progress and the way the project feeds into reported revenue and margins across FY27 and FY28.