NRW's Fredon wins A$240m data centre electrical contract

At a glance

• Fredon, the electrical and mechanical contracting firm owned by NRW Holdings, has won an electrical services contract worth about A$240 million from builder Shape Australia for a data centre.

• Data centre owner DigiCo is Shape's largest data centre client, through an A$800 million contract to add 52MW to its SYD1 campus in Ultimo.

• At A$240 million, the electrical package is twice the A$119.7 million of data centre work Shape won in all of FY26.

• Fredon's other data centre award since September is a A$115 million first stage of mechanical work at STACK's MEL03 in Melbourne, announced on 24 September.

• If the package is SYD1, its first deadline is DigiCo's first 10MW, due to be energised late in the quarter ending 30 June 2027.

NRW Holdings told the ASX on 11 November 2026 that Fredon, its electrical and mechanical contracting subsidiary, has won an electrical services contract worth about A$240 million from Shape Australia, the Sydney-based fitout and construction group, for a data centre project. NRW, a Perth-based mining and civil contracting group, bought Fredon in 2025.

The release identifies the client and the work, electrical services for a data centre, and Shape's own filings point to where that work is. Shape's largest data centre client is DigiCo, the listed data centre owner, which hired Shape in October for an A$800 million, 52MW expansion of SYD1 in Ultimo. An electrical package of about A$240 million would be 30 per cent of that contract, which makes SYD1 the likely site. Southern Cross Electrical, another listed electrical contractor, named DigiCo SYD1 among its main ongoing jobs in its August results.

Shape won A$119.7 million of data centre work in FY26

Shape's data centre business took off in one year. The group earned A$109.1 million from data centre work in FY26, up from A$0.5 million the year before, and won A$119.7 million of new data centre contracts, according to its chief executive's address to the annual general meeting on 28 October 2026. Data centres rose from less than 1 per cent of Shape's revenue to more than 9 per cent, making them its third-largest sector.

Those FY26 wins included the first 20MW stage at SYD1. On 15 October 2026 Shape announced it had won the next phase, a fixed-price design and construct contract worth about A$800 million for a 52MW expansion, with works to start immediately. In a trading update on 28 October, Shape said the contract would add about A$200 million of revenue in each of FY27 and FY28 and had lifted its backlog above A$1.5 billion. It has put a team of more than 50 people on the project.

SYD1 is being expanded while it stays open

The 52MW expansion is being built for one customer. DigiCo signed a 15-year, 71MW contract at SYD1 with an unnamed global technology firm on 15 October. The deal left the 88MW campus fully contracted. SYD1 sits on the edge of the Sydney CBD, away from the large western Sydney campuses on the Sydney data centre map.

DigiCo co-head Ralph Goninan said the works are being delivered "with uptime maintained for existing customers throughout". The building has approved grid capacity, and Shape's first stage there spanned eight levels, including four new data halls and four levels of electrical and mechanical plant, according to Shape. Laing O'Rourke is DigiCo's integrated delivery partner on the project.

DigiCo expects the first 10MW to be energised and earning income late in the fourth quarter of FY27, which ends on 30 June 2027, with the rest delivered across FY28 as the customer needs it.

Fredon's second data centre award in seven weeks

The Shape contract is Fredon's second data centre award announced to the ASX in seven weeks. On 24 September 2026 NRW said Fredon had won a A$115 million first stage of mechanical work at STACK's MEL03 in Melbourne. That stage is part of a package of about A$300 million covering mechanical systems for 432MW of an 864MW campus. Fredon also handled electrical work and commissioning at GreenSquare's adaptive reuse campus at Norwest in western Sydney.

NRW agreed to buy Fredon for up to A$200 million on 2 September 2025, naming the pipeline of data centre construction as a reason. Fredon earned A$840 million in FY25 and had about 2,500 staff when NRW agreed to buy it. Its two announced data centre wins since September come to about A$355 million.

What to watch

The site. A statement from NRW, Shape or DigiCo naming the project would confirm where the A$240 million goes.

SYD1's first 10MW. DigiCo's timetable has it energised late in the quarter ending 30 June 2027. The remaining capacity follows across FY28.

NRW's annual meeting. NRW holds its AGM in Perth on 26 November 2026, its next scheduled update since these two awards. Its half-year result is expected around February 2027, going by last year's 19 February date.