Mumbai third on list of top-10 data centre markets in APAC: Knight Frank India

With a capacity of 2,337 megawatt Mumbai featured amongst the top-three data centre markets in the Asia-Pacific region in a new report released by property consultancy Knight Frank India on Monday. Shanghai (2,692 MW) and Tokyo (2,575 MW) bagged the first and second positions, respectively, with Bangkok displaying impressive growth - nearly 30 per cent since the beginning of the year - occupying ninth position in the overall list of top-10 markets in the region.

“As data centres gain prominence as an asset class in the country, investors are leveraging various strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and land acquisitions to tap into this thriving sector,” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.

This comes as a shot in the arm for the Indian data centre industry which enjoys an optimistic outlook from all stakeholders moving forward. Ratings agency ICRA has predicted a six-fold increase in India’s data centre capacities in the next six years. It sees 4,900-5,000 MW of capacity involving investments of about Rs 1.50 lakh crore being added in the period.

Mumbai’s live capacity (operational capacity) stood at 270 MW as of Q1 2023, with over half of the total capacity in the early stage at 1272 MW, the report highlighted. Over 328 MW capacity was added on the back of announcements from existing players and a new market entrant - Stonepeak-backed operator Digital Edge - which is set to deliver a hyperscale facility to the market. Supply movements have, however, moderated compared to previous quarters, with over 40 per cent of its current live capacity absorbed throughout 2022.