Equinix Inc, a US-based digital infrastructure company that operates 240 data centres across the world, will be setting up a data centre in Chennai. The firm, which has two data centres in Mumbai, said it invested $9 million on a parcel of land in Chennai on a long-term leasehold basis. The 5.5 acres of land parcel is located in the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) IT Park, which is close to the Chennai’s IT Corridor.

Quoting a Cushman & Wakefield’s 2021 Global Data Center Market Comparison report, Equinix said that Chennai is steadily emerging as a data centre hub and has made it to the ‘top ten markets to watch in the world’. “With a strategic location, access to sub-sea cable landing stations, stable power supply and thriving IT infrastructure,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Global players’ growing interest

Eyeing an unfolding opportunity, Equinix entered the Indian data centre market. “There is a lot of momentum and interest from large global players to establish and expand their footprint in India. Many of our customers are keen to expand beyond Mumbai, and Chennai is often their next requested destination,” Manoj Paul, Managing Director of Equinix India, said.

“With the infrastructure status for data centres recently announced by the government, India is well-positioned to grow as one of the most important data centre hubs in South Asia,” he said.

Equinix said, according to a Nasscom report, currently there were over 80 third-party data centers in operation in India. Investments from both local and international players were expected to reach $4.6 billion per year by 2025.

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