Mumbai emerges as a global data center hub, ranking 6th in under-construction capacity
Mumbai ranks 6th globally in under-construction capacity, surpassing global hubs like London, Dublin, becoming a data centre hub, according to the report by Cushman & Wakefield, covering 97 global markets, highlights power access, land availability, and infrastructure as key factors shaping data center development.
Global Data Center markets are seeing surging demand due to relentless growth and expansion of cloud computing and AI workloads.
The data center industry experienced significant growth in 2024, Asia Pacific cities continue to demonstrate strong growth momentum, ten of the world's 30 largest data center markets are now in the Asia Pacific region. The report highlights that Asia Pacific ended 2024 with 1.6 GW of new capacity coming online, bringing the region's total operational data center capacity to 12.2 GW.
The development pipeline remains strong, with an additional 14.4 GW of capacity currently under construction or planned. Key drivers such as 5G rollouts, increased cloud adoption, rising digital content consumption, and expanding IoT use cases continue to accelerate demand in the region's data center sector.
'India's data center landscape is undergoing a strategic shift—Mumbai has firmly positioned itself among the top global markets, while Pune is emerging as a key data center hub in the APAC region. India's data center sector has attracted prominent international operators and investors, even as domestic players continue to expand capacity,' said Gautam Saraf, Executive Managing Director – Mumbai & New Business, India, Cushman & Wakefield.
Live Events
These trends have attracted sustained investor interest, supported by rising occupancy levels, stable rental yields, and long-term growth prospects from hyperscale and colocation expansions. With these fundamentals, Asia Pacific is poised for continued growth over the next three to five years.
Amid this regional momentum, Mumbai is emerging as a significant contributor to capacity expansion in the APAC region. The report further states that Mumbai ranks as the 7th most established data center market in the APAC region. At the end of 2024 the city had 335 MW of data center capacity under construction, which, once completed, will expand its operational capacity by 62%.
At the same time, Mumbai accounts for 42% of India's projected under construction capacity—underscoring its growing prominence as a regional data center hub. The data center growth is further supported by digital infrastructure upgrades in the city.
2025 may witness the completion of three crucial undersea data cable projects landing in Mumbai. These are expected to significantly increase India's internet capacity and speed, enhancing inter-regional digital connectivity with Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The completion of these projects will further elevate Mumbai's position as a major connectivity hub in the Southeast Asian region.
Pune emerging data center powerhouse
Ranked 4th among APAC's top emerging data center markets.
As of Q1 2025, Pune's operational data center stock stands at 112 IT MW. With an additional 190 IT MW of capacity currently in the under-construction or planned stages, across key corridors such as Hinjewadi and Pimpri-Chinchwad, the city is well-positioned for accelerated growth.
Major players, including STT GDC, Nxtra by Airtel, and IronMountain are anchoring their presence in the region—attracted by Pune's favorable climate, skilled talent pool, dependable power infrastructure, and strategic connectivity to Mumbai's cable landing stations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
31 minutes ago
- Time of India
Real estate market: Major listed firms sell over Rs 1 lakh crore properties; Godrej leads
India's top listed real estate firms recorded a blockbuster performance last fiscal, with property sales surging past Rs 1.62 lakh crore, marking a jump of over 20% from the previous year. Leading the charge was Godrej Properties, which emerged as the biggest seller among 26 major listed players, clocking pre-sales worth Rs 29,444 crore. The data, compiled from investor presentations and regulatory filings, shows that the growth was largely powered by residential projects, particularly in the luxury segment, while commercial sales made up a smaller share. DLF Ltd, the country's largest developer by market capitalisation, secured the second spot with Rs 21,223 crore in bookings, up from Rs 14,778 crore in the previous fiscal. The company's standout performer was its ultra-luxury project The Camellias in Gurugram, which saw strong buyer interest. Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers, known for its Lodha brand, followed close behind with Rs 17,630 crore in bookings, a rise from Rs 14,520 crore a year ago. Prestige Estates Projects and Signature Global rounded out the top five, with the latter nearly touching Rs 10,300 crore. The rest of the pack saw varied performance. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Aditya Birla Real Estate saw sales double to Rs 8,087 crore, while Brigade Enterprises and Max Estates also registered solid growth. On the other hand, Sobha Ltd, Puravankara Ltd, and Prestige Estates Projects reported slight declines in sales. Among developers with below Rs 5,000 crore bookings, Delhi-based TARC Ltd, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, and Mumbai's Keystone Realtors (Rustomjee) showed healthy year-on-year gains. Even smaller players such as Arkade Developers, Suraj Estate Developers, and Lucknow-based Eldeco Housing posted modest but consistent sales, signalling broad-based resilience in the sector. Market experts credited the strong performance of listed firms to the shift in consumer preference towards branded and reputed players who have better track record of executing real estate projects. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Which country in Southeast Asia is the most popular among Indian travellers?
Known for its pristine beaches, affordable stays and vibrant nightlife, this country received the highest number of Indian tourists among Southeast Asian countries in 2024. Can you guess which one? Also read: 10 million tourists visited Asia's 'most-loved country' in Q1; more than Thailand, Indonesia India is one of Thailand's most significant tourism markets, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said in a press release in December 2024 to celebrate the 2 million-mark of Indian tourists in Thailand. In 2023, Indian tourists generated 61.9 billion Baht in revenue for Thailand. More than 35.5 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2024. Of these, 2.1 million were Indians. Indian travellers arrive in Thailand around the year. November to February is typically considered the high tourist season, overlapping with winter vacation for schoolchildren in India. Thailand is a popular tourist destination with both bachelors and families. There are plenty of factors that contribute to Thailand's popularity as India's favourite tourist destination, including accessibility, affordability and distance. In its press release, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said: 'Thailand's strong air connectivity with India has been instrumental in fostering this growth. As of June 2024, 342 weekly flights between the two nations offered 2.9 million seats annually, representing a 92.2% rebound from pre-pandemic levels. Recent additions, including Indigo's Hyderabad-Bangkok route, THAI's Kochi-Bangkok flights, and Thai AirAsia's Vishakhapatnam-Bangkok service, have further enhanced accessibility.' Friendly visa policies are another major factor contributing the footfall. Thailand has visa-free entry for Indians 'until further notice'. Popular tourist destinations in Thailand include Bangkok, Phuket, Chon Buri, Krabi, Chiang Mai and Phang-nga. Places like Phuket and Krabi are known for their stunning beaches and water activities. In Bangkok, tourists can enjoy shopping, visit famous temples like Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Arun, or drop into one of the city's famous rooftop bars. Chiang Mai, located in northern Thailand, is famous for its historic temples, night markets, and mountain landscapes. It also serves as a base for visiting elephant sanctuaries.
Mint
5 hours ago
- Mint
India's warehouse sector may be slowing gears—but the smart money isn't leaving just yet
Mumbai: For investors in India's real estate market, it isn't just office properties and residential developments that are vying for their money but also the more timid warehousing space. Warehouses emerged as a key investment segment the past 4-5 years driven by strong demand from logistics, e-commerce, manufacturing, and retail occupiers. However, investors are becoming increasingly selective now, prioritizing grade A assets in top-tier cities and favouring tech-enabled and environmentally sustainable warehouses, according to industry participants. Grade A warehouse stock across India's eight primary markets grew at a compound annual growth rate of 21% over the past five years, reaching 183 million in 2023-24, credit rating agencyIcra said in a July note. More than 50-55% of this stock is backed by global investors such as US private equity firm Blackstone, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, Singapore-headquartered GLP, and Hong Kong-based ESR Group. But this phase of high returns may be over as India's warehousing sector enters a period of more normalised and stable performance, according to industry experts. While the domestic warehousing sector saw exponential growth during the e-commerce boom with companies like Xander Group and Indospace expanding significantly as demand surged, the market is now more consolidated, said Shivam Bajaj, founder and chief executive officer of Avener Capital, a boutique investment bank focussed on the infrastructure and energy sectors. 'So the growth is going to be fairly stable," Bajaj said, adding that warehouse companies are expanding with minimal capital expenditure and he does not see another big spike coming. '(India's warehouse space) will grow at a steady 7-10% annually. That earlier jump was closely tied to the rapid rise of e-commerce, which has now matured." Even so, India's warehouse space has seen some recent big-ticket investments. In March, NDR InvIT Trust bought a 900,000 warehouse and industrial park in Surat from a consortium of Mumbai-based developers for an undisclosed sum. In January, the company announced a ₹706-crore investment plan to acquire fully leased warehouse assets in Surat, Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad markets. Earlier in September, Macrotech Developers Ltd (Lodha Group) increased its stake in three warehouse companies by buying out Ivanhoe Warehousing India Inc.'s shareholding in those firms for ₹239.56 crore. Also read | ESR, Xander to sell their warehousing assets in India as industrial demand soars Diminishing interest Private equity investments in Indian real estate hit $4.2 billion in 2024, a 32% surge from the year prior, show data from Knight Frank India, a real estate consultancy. Warehousing led the charge, accounting for 45% of these investments and surpassing the office sector, which had held the highest share of PE investments since 2017. However, due to a prolonged period of elevated interest rates in the West and the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, 'there were no private equity deals in the warehousing sector during the March quarter of 2025 (January-March)", Vivek Rathi, national director, research, Knight Frank India, told Mint. Flow of overseas capital into Indian real estate, particularly warehousing, will remain a challenge this year, he said, adding that unlike the office and residential segments, warehousing has not seen meaningful investments in 2025. A key reason is the limited availability of ready investment-grade assets that meet the standards of global investors, Rathi said, adding that risk appetite and return expectations from warehouse assets in India has diminished. For stable, income-generating warehouse assets, internal rate of returns typically range from 9% to 13% for a holding period of 5-6 years. However, a decade ago, returns in the warehouse sector were at least 3-4 percentage points higher, the veteran pointed out. 'A decade ago, warehousing deals commanded a notable premium compared to office or retail assets but that gap has since narrowed, with returns now closely aligned across these sectors," Rathi said. Also read | The world's largest warehouse firm re-enters India with a $500 million purse Exits and IPOs Private equity firms typically adopt a medium-term investment horizon for warehouse assets, with exits primarily pursued through mergers and acquisitions. Typically, investors aim to build and exit a sizable portfolio with a 5-7-year horizon, according to industry experts. 'We are seeing more exits in the Indian warehousing segment now," said Anuj Puri, chairman of ANAROCK Group, a real estate consultancy. Major investors such as global private equity firm Bain Capital and Canadian real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc. recently sold their Indian warehousing stakes, he added. Prateek Jhawar, managing director and head, infrastructure and real assets, at Avendus Capital, said India's infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) model has demonstrated its potential as a viable exit route for PE investors. 'We believe that the industry has now matured enough with existing players having sufficient scale and capabilities to go for an IPO (initial public offering)," said Jhawar. 'We can probably witness a couple of big IPOs coming from the sector in the next 2-3 years." But PE investors in India's warehouse sector are keeping a close watch on factors such as inflation, slowing domestic consumption, supply chain disruptions, high rents, challenges in acquiring land, and shortage of skilled labour, said experts. Besides, the global economic uncertainty and the rupee's depreciation, which impacts dollar returns, also weigh on their decisions. 'Investors are still cautious for several reasons, including valuation corrections and the effect of policy changes," said Puri of ANAROCK Group. 'And that is why they remain focused on Grade A assets with quality tenants, which can help mitigate some of these risks."
