Real estate developer Anant Raj Ltd is venturing into the data centre business, announcing plans to invest Rs 10,000 crore ($1.35 billion) over the next four to five years. The move comes as part of the company’s strategic expansion into the burgeoning Indian data centre market.
The company has already taken significant steps in this direction, with a 3 MW data centre facility in Manesar already operational, and an additional 3 MW set to be added within the next three months. Anant Raj Ltd has set up a subsidiary called Anant Raj Cloud to oversee data centre operations across locations in Manesar, Rai, and Panchkula, all situated in the state of Haryana.
Managing Director Amit Sarin elaborated on the company’s ambitious plans, stating, “With these three properties, the company can go up to a capacity of 300 MW. We have already operationalized 3 MW and will add another 3 MW in the next three months in our facility based in Manesar.”
The Manesar facility has received certification for its initial capacity of 21 MW, with a projected investment of Rs 500 crore ($68 million). Sarin noted that Rs 175 crore ($24 million) has already been invested in the Manesar facility, primarily from internal accruals. The facility caters to a diverse clientele, including public sector undertakings, IT companies, e-commerce giants, and financial institutions. Anant Raj Ltd has also secured partnerships with Telecommunications Consultants India and RailTel Corporation of India.
Regarding the overall investment and development plan, Sarin explained, “The company owns the land and has already constructed the buildings. The total investment, including land for these three projects, is close to Rs 3,000 crore ($405 million). Upgrading these three facilities will cost close to Rs 7,500 crore ($1 billion).”
It’s worth noting that building 1 MW of data centre capacity typically costs around Rs 55 crore ($7.4 million). However, due to the company’s land ownership, the cost is expected to be significantly lower, at around Rs 25 crore ($3.4 million) per 1 MW. In the data centre industry, access to ample power supply is crucial, given the need to support thousands of servers and IT hardware.
Sarin highlighted the growth potential of these data centre projects, stating, “The company had been focusing on strengthening work for the past three years and has now successfully commissioned 3 MW in Manesar. This facility has the capacity to go up to 50 MW. Rai can go up to 200 MW, and Panchkula 50 MW.”
Anant Raj Ltd has a history of real estate development, with approximately 5 million square feet of commercial space constructed by 2020, of which 20 percent has been leased. The company initially ventured into residential projects in the 1980s under the Anant Raj Agencies banner, including the notable Asian Games Village.
The data centre market in India is experiencing rapid growth, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 40 percent. It is expected to attract around $5 billion in investments by 2025, driving the demand for additional data centre capacity. According to a report by Avendus Capital, the industry aims to build a total capacity of 1,700 MW by 2025, signaling significant opportunities for players like Anant Raj Ltd in the coming years.