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Australian water utility Sydney Water is upgrading its Homebush Data Centre, in a job that will require the staged demolition of the existing data center for a completely new design.

The utility has called for tenders, a process which will close 15 March 2012. The winning bid will have 55 weeks to carry out the work.

It said it was looking to reduce the risk to staff posed by the data center, built in 1993, to ensure the critical production systems of Sydney Water, Sydney’s main water supplier, are provided in a reliable and secure environment.

According to construction and property company Altus Page Kirkland, which is providing cost management and quantity surveying for the project, design options are still being assessed but the project could include moving an existing office space associated with the data center and making better use of an associated carpark space.

“Through the fitting out of this area, Sydney Water would gain valuable space for future expansion of their data centre located on the upper level,” Altus Page Kirkland said on its website.

Sydney Water wants to align the data center to the standards of another operation at its Parramatta Head Office, which was established in May 2009 as part of a major relocation of the utility’s head office, which cost A$176m.

It said the upgrade is essential to meet building codes and standards to allow for maintenance and enable future growth capacity.

It also plans to stabilise the environment, allowing for maintenance to take place on the electrical switchboard and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) without affecting power to the IT in the data center.