Arabic version: سحب خطة مركز بيانات للذكاء الاصطناعي قرب نهر كوكس

According to ABC News, developers Stockland and John Boyd Properties have withdrawn plans for an AI data centre at Arncliffe on Sydney’s Cooks River. The facility had been proposed as part of an estimated $3.5 billion logistics precinct on the rezoned 18.3-hectare former Kogarah Golf Club site.

The proposal drew opposition after it was revealed in July last year. Stop the Cooks River AI Project, or SCRAP, formed in August and has since protested against the development. Organiser Paddy Gibson said residents were celebrating a “very good win for people power” and had feared impacts on the river’s fragile ecology, power use and possible water contamination.

Stockland said the partners would instead focus on a “world class logistics precinct” without a data centre in the amended Concept Masterplan. The company said the site’s proximity to Sydney Airport, Port Botany and major transport infrastructure made it suitable for a logistics hub. It said the project would include a one-kilometre public foreshore link, future delivery of the 14-hectare Pemulwuy Park, road upgrades and improved active transport connections.

Bayside Greens councillor Peter Strong welcomed the withdrawal, citing concerns over energy and water use, noise and the site’s value as a wildlife sanctuary. The decision follows other data-centre proposals being dropped in Lane Cove and Guildford after community opposition. SCRAP said it would continue campaigning over the riverfront logistics hub and seek a ban on new AI data centres.