The development of new data centre projects for various public and private institutions of the country is the major driver of the construction sector in 2024.
Title: With the Rise of the New Data Centre Projects Came the Growth Of New Job Vacancies
The sector hit the headlines recently with the go-ahead for the huge £800 million Google Data Centre at Waltham Cross in Herts, including an electricity substation and where work on some 62,000 sqm of space is underway this summer.
Notwithstanding, Glenigan data gives clear evidence that development activity is being registered nationwide and construction contracts are being awarded to small and large data centre projects, providing varied opportunities for new work. Data will not grow with the AI\’s development. This will be the driving force of the growth of the sector, reports Contract Journal.
A recent global survey facilitated by Turner & Townsend, a property services firm that is specialized in the data industry, revealed that 10 out of 12 participants said the demand for data capacity for AI/ML is rising extremely.
The firm claims that AI and machine learning programs require an ‘exponential demand’ for additional computing resources, which will further create new opportunities for and contracts for data centres that are just starting to be built.
However, the industry is expected to record growth in its development until the end of the decade. Another survey held by Savills in the last year found that growing data consumption in Europe is forecast to cause a 32% yearly increase in international bandwidth until 2029, which in turn will create the demand for data centre capacity.
Based on the Glenigan data, the scale of buildings and the variety of data centre projects in the UK will clearly shine out over the next several months, particularly around M25.
Whilst the work is being carried out, funds could be directed to a significant project at Iver in Buckinghamshire from the end of this year. SEGRO — the largest developer of warehouse space in the country — has unveiled plans for a £352.6 million project involving three new data centres. Therefore, the total area of the scheme, Segro Park Iver, will exceed 924,000 sq m. It is planned to take 24 months for the construction.
The detailed plans for South West are there, and it is anticipated that a decision on the £56.4 million P4 North data centre project at Corsham in Wiltshire for Ark Data Centres will be made later this month. The prospect plan has been submitted, and if this is approved, work is planned to begin later this summer and run for 17 months.
In addition, Ark Data Centres is a customer looking into smaller data centre project options that constitute new deals with the contractor. In Ealing, West London site enablement works have been progressing, and construction will begin this spring at Alliance Park where a £10 million data centre shall replace the former retail building.
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