RMZ, Colt DCS form JV to invest $1.7 billion in data centres across cities

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. RMZ Digital Infrastructure Partners (RDIP), part of real estate firm RMZ, has entered into a joint venture with Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS), a global hyperscale data centre operator, to jointly invest $1.7 billion to develop data centres across cities in India. The equal partnership between RMZ and UK-headquartered Colt DCS plans to build data centres with a combined capacity of 250MW over the next 3-5 years.

Fidelity Investments-backed Colt DCS entered the Indian market in 2021, acquiring 15 acres in Airoli, Navi Mumbai and then, another 10 acres in Ambattur, in Chennai. The investment by the joint venture will initially focus on expediting development at the existing sites in Navi Mumbai and Chennai, with an additional third site to be added in future. India's data centre capacity has nearly doubled since 2019, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26% over the next three years, drawing a wide range of investors, Avendus Capital said in a recent report.

The data centre market, which is undergoing massive disruption led by increased demand and use cases by AI customers, will pave the next wave of investments, the report said. “We are witnessing an extraordinary shift in the data centre landscape, driven by the accelerating demands of cloud adoption and the AI revolution. The joint venture brings together Colt DCS' track record in delivering data centre solutions along with RMZ's expertise in development and client management," Deepak Chhabria, CEO of RMZ Infrastructure, said in an interview.