The Adani Group will invest ₹2,500 crore to set up a ‘hyperscale’ data centre (DC) in Chennai, called Adani Chennai-1. The foundation stone for the project was laid last week, said government officials. It is expected to give a boost to the city’s attempts to become the country’s second major DC hub, after Mumbai.
Adani Chennai-1 DC will be located at the Siruseri IT Park that houses companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant and FSS Ltd. It will be the biggest hyperscale tier-3+ DC in Chennai with 32 MW IT load, and a one-stop-shop for the telecom and IT infrastructure needs of hyperscale customers, the Adani Group said. It will transform Chennai into South-East Asia’s DC hub, it added.
In July, Adani Enterprises Ltd, in a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange, had said that it had entered into a non-binding pact with the Tamil Nadu government for exploring possibilities to set up a hyperscale DC in the State. This is in addition to the DCs in NCR, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Chennai already has a number of smaller DCs with investment commitments of over ₹8,300 crore from four large companies, including Yotta Infrastructure, HDCI Data Centre Holdings and Singapore-based ST Tele Media.
Adani’s investment commitment will take the tally to around ₹10,000 crore.
Advantage Chennai
The city has been a magnet for DC investments. Among the reasons for the trend are the submarine cables landing in Chennai, and various State governments wanting to have DCs located within the country due to security concerns.
Chennai has sound optic fibre network connectivity with three undersea cable landing stations. Also, its geographic proximity to key Asian cities gives it an edge.
Additionally, the city has adequate real estate and power, which are critical for data centres. A proactive State government that encourages IT infrastructure adds to the advantages.