AI / GPU Data Centre Delivery — Phase-Gate Reference | RegionCo Model
Purpose & How to Use
This playbook governs how we deliver data centres — from investment thesis to operating asset — across nine phase gates.
Onboard Teams
Brief new members fast with a single source of truth.
Run Gate Reviews
Structured phase gates keep every site on track.
Scale to 300MW
Consistent delivery from 30MW to 300MW.
Phase-Gate Overview
Nine phases. Nine gates. One standard.
Each gate must be cleared before the next phase begins — no exceptions.
Phase 0 — Strategy & Mandate
Fix the thesis before the site. This phase converts an opportunity into a defined product with bankable economics.
Product Definition
Define retail colo / hyperscale / dedicated AI-GPU; set target IT load and staged capacity (30 → 100 → 300MW).
Rack Density & Tier
AI workloads run 40–130kW+, forcing liquid cooling. Tier target: AIDC typically Tier III (concurrently maintainable).
Anchor-Tenant Logic
Lock take-or-pay economics that make the asset financeable before any capital is committed.
IC Screen
Run the go/no-go Investment Committee screen. Gate: IC screen approved. Owner: CEO, CCO, CFO.
Phase 1 — Site Selection & Land Acquisition
The make-or-break phase — a data centre is a power-and-connectivity play in a real-estate wrapper. Screen and secure the parcel.
Site Ranking Criteria
Power availability & time to energisation; water for cooling; fibre/latency; zoning; hazard/climate exposure.
Land Acquisition
Negotiate option/SPA; confirm title and buildable capacity. Acquire land and M&E rights.
KYC/AML Gate
Due diligence on title provenance, seller UBO and consideration flow before committing.
Phase 2 — Power, Water & ESG Securement
Secure the utility connection and lock the environmental design basis that lenders and tenants underwrite.
Grid & PPA
Secure grid connection or PPA. Options: grid, LNG, solar, battery; hydrogen as differentiator.
PUE ≤ 1.3
Best-in-class AIDC ~1.1–1.2 with liquid cooling. WUE and carbon intensity targets set at this phase.
ESG Story
Renewable overlay, water strategy, green certification path — what lenders and hyperscale tenants underwrite.
Gate
Signed grid/PPA term sheet + ESG design basis. Owner: CTO, CFO.
Phase 3 — Design (DesignCo)
DesignCo takes the scheme from concept to issued-for-construction, de-risking a modular, certifiable build.
Electrical
Utility → MV → transformers → UPS → PDU → rack, with N+1 / 2N redundancy per Tier target.
Mechanical / Cooling
Select CRAH vs. direct-to-chip liquid vs. immersion for GPU density. Fix PUE/WUE design.
Digital Twin / BMS
DCIM stack, fire and life-safety, structural. Favour modular / prefabricated / containerised to compress schedule.
Tier Certification
Fix the Uptime design + facility certification path. Gate: IFC design freeze + Tier design cert. Owner: Group CTO.
Phase 4 — Capital & Procurement
Close the capital stack. Lock long-lead equipment. Don't let procurement become the critical path.
GPU-Collateralised Debt
Advance rate on Compute SPV GPU debt
Long-Lead Equipment
Typical lead times for generators, switchgear, transformers & chillers
Capital Stack
Equity + construction debt + GPU-collateralised debt
Capital Stack
Close equity + carry (SPV level), construction/project debt, and GPU-collateralised debt (~60% advance) for the Compute SPV.
Long-Lead Equipment
Order generators, switchgear, transformers, and chillers early — these carry 12–24 month lead times and are the schedule's critical path.
EPC Contract
Execute the EPC / design-build contract at JV/SPV level — not as a GP subcontract — to preserve role separation. Gate: Financial close + EPC executed. Owner: CFO, CEO.
Phase 5 & 6 — Build, Govern & Prove
Phase 5 — Construction & PM
The owner's-rep PMO governs the build against the M&E critical path. Manage schedule, cost, quality, safety and change control; hold monthly cost-to-complete and risk-register reviews. Track long-lead delivery and run factory acceptance tests (FAT) on critical equipment.
Gate: Mechanical completion. Owner: Local SPV CEO, PMO.
Phase 6 — Commissioning
The phase amateurs skip — proving the facility performs to SLA under load. Five levels: L1 factory → L2 site component → L3 subsystem → L4 integrated systems → L5 IST. Full-load black-building / pull-the-plug tests on generators and UPS under simulated IT load.
Gate: L5 IST sign-off + RFS. Owner: CTO, Operator.
Phase 7 — Operations & Handover to OpCo
Our operating bench takes the asset live and holds it to the SLA.
Tier III Uptime Target
Round-the-Clock Operations
24/7 NOC
Stand up round-the-clock Network Operations Centre, O&M, DCIM/digital-twin monitoring, and incident/change control.
KPI Scorecards
Automated KPI scorecards tied to take-or-pay SLA — Tier III targets ~99.982% uptime.
ESG Reporting
Continuous PUE/WUE/carbon reporting to LPs and tenants. Gate: SLA in force + first tenant live. Owner: OpCo.
Phase 8 — Scale: The "McDonald's" Model
One playbook. Infinite sites. The McDonald's model for data centres.
30 MW
First site — prove the playbook.
100 MW
Split SPVs, add PMO headcount, standardise procurement.
300 MW
Full platform scale — standardised design, procurement and operations shorten each subsequent build.
Accountability by PMO Role
Six roles. One chain of command. Zero ambiguity.
Built for the AI Era
I Build Concepts (System) Pty Ltd — This is the definitive framework for delivering world-class AI/GPU data centres at scale.
Phase Gates
From thesis to operating asset
Target Capacity
Scalable from 30MW
Best-in-Class PUE
With liquid cooling
Max Lead Time
Critical M&E equipment
Data Centre Development Playbook