Ian Malouf the vendor in $353m land deal with NextDC

The deal finally brings to an end Ian Malouf’s long-held ambition to build a huge waste-to-energy plant in Sydney’s Eastern Creek.

Billionaire Ian Malouf is selling land to NextDC for $353m. PIC Ryan Osland

Billionaire Ian Malouf is set to keep his title of “Australia’s richest garbo” after recently clinching the sale of a $353m parcel of land to ASX-listed NextDC.

The deal, the vendor for which was previously undisclosed, finally brings to an end Mr Malouf’s long-held ambition to build a huge waste-to-energy plant in Sydney’s Eastern Creek.

Instead, in a very modern twist, NextDC has earmarked what is about 248,000 sqm of developable land area for a huge data centre.

NextDC announced the purchase of what it calls the “S7 site” to the ASX on October 17, and said the “purchase price of the S7 site is approximately $353m.”

It did not disclose the vendor.

But The Australian has confirmed with several sources that the land has been owned by Mr Malouf, the founder of Dial-a-Dump who is now the owner of the Ahoy superyacht broking business.

Mr Malouf was travelling and not available to discuss the purchase when approached. NextDC chief executive Craig Scroggie would not comment when contacted, other than to refer The Australian to his company’s recent ASX statements.

Data centre operators are growing rapidly.

“The S7 site covers approximately 258,000sqm of developable land area and is in proximity to a major electricity substation as well as telecommunications, utilities, and associated public infrastructure,” the NextDC announcement said.

“Subject to Development Approval, S7 is expected to accommodate a data centre facility capable of approximately 550MW of capacity, in addition to housing our customers’ mission critical operation centres, administrative offices and collaboration spaces.”

The company said it would progressively settle on the S7 land parcels across the 2025 financial year, subject to the conditions in its agreement with the vendor being satisfied.

The S7 site is Eastern Creek is about 45km west of Sydney’s Central Business District and 8km from NextDC’s existing S4 site in Horsley Park, which is currently in planning.

“Both sites represent a significant expansion opportunity in the Western Sydney Availability Zone,” NextDC said.

Nextdc boss Craig Scroggie said Eastern Creek is a significant opportunity

The Australian revealed earlier this month that new investment among Australia’s biggest data centre operators is set to top $26bn by the end of the decade as demand for artificial intelligence tools soars and more people install smart devices in their homes.

Australia’s data centre capacity is forecast to more than double from 1350 to 3100 megawatts by 2030, requiring an extra $26bn in infrastructure investment, according to Mandala Partners.

Mr Scroggie said it was “impossible to imagine how we would continue to innovate and drive the nation’s economy” without data centres.

“As AI marks the next big technology shift, there will be an ever-increasing demand for data centres and in turn a greater focus on energy efficiency to ensure the required processing capacity to deliver the requirements of AI in the most sustainable way possible.”

Mr Malouf’s fortune was valued at $1.13bn in this year’s edition of The List – Australia’s Richest 250, published by The Australian in March.

Ian Malouf had wanted to build a huge waste to energy plant at Eastern Creek

He started with a shovel and a truck and went on to sell his Dial-a-Dump business to Bingo ­Industries in 2018 in a $577m cash and shares deal.

In the three decades he was in business, Malouf also bought large amounts of land in and around Sydney, including at Eastern Creek where he had landfill operations.

It was there a decade ago that he also had long proposed a huge waste-to-energy incinerator, which was planned to be one of the world’s largest.

But there was community opposition and after years of wrangling, including the Independent Planning Commission’s refusal to approve the project and a subsequent appeal, the NSW government eventually banned energy to waste in the Sydney Basin.

Originally published as Ian Malouf the vendor in $353m land deal with NextDC