Australian IT services company Interactive has kicked off a major data center expansion in Melbourne and Sydney, including a new build and expansion of existing facilities.

The company is planning to invest AU$50m on building out the first phase of a new data center in Melbourne and on expanding an existing one in Sydney, according to a report by iTnews. It has also started a $10m expansion of an existing data center in Melbourne's Port Park.

In the Port Park expansion Interactive is building out the last remaining floor space at the site, the company's managing director Christopher Ride told iTnews. He said the decision to expand there was driven by customer demand for Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings and managed services.

"It was always planned in the initial build [but] we were really thinking it would be a 2012-2013 project," Ride said. "We had to bring it forward by two years to meet the demand and beat the current providers in the marketplace."

The company is adding 200 racks at Pork Park.

The new data center in Melbourne ÔÇô Interactive's second in the city ÔÇô will be at least as big as the one in Port Park. The company has already secured land for the project and is currently in contract negotiations to start construction.

The new facility will be built out in four phases. Interactive plans to complete the first $25m phase in 2-2.5 years. At full build-out, the data center is expected to cost up to $55m.

The Sydney expansion is also expected to cost $25m. The project includes adding three new electrical substations to the existing two. Interactive expects to complete this expansion within one year.