India’s next big real estate story? Plug-and-play data centre cities

The data centre market is undergoing a shift in how land is acquired, developed and delivered, driven by the explosion of AI, cloud and digital services.

Traditionally, data centre operators purchased industrial land and built facilities from the ground up. However, with deployment timelines tightening and demand rising from global cloud companies, developers are increasingly offering powered-shell and plug-and-play campuses.

“Data centre clients today want speed, scalability and power assurance. The era of buying plain land and building everything from scratch is over,” said a senior executive at DC developer firm. “We are delivering ready-to-build and ready-to-operate campuses where power, fibre and compliance systems are already in place,” he said.

Amit Sarin, Managing Director, Anant Raj Limited, said that India’s data centre landscape is moving towards plug-and-play data centre parks that allow cloud and hyperscale operators to deploy their IT infrastructure rapidly.

“Instead of the traditional land-led approach, these integrated parks offer built-to-spec shells, co-location-ready environments, high-voltage power infrastructure, and streamlined regulatory facilitation. This significantly reduces commissioning timelines in key hubs,” he said.

Such facilities compress deployment time, making them attractive for hyperscalers, he added.

How the land is acquired

Data centre land is typically an industrial use land, and it is secured mainly through four models: direct purchase, long-term leasing, government-allotted industrial plots, and joint development with private landowners.

Developers say the approach also depends on location, cost and available infrastructure. Hyperscale data centres typically require 10–50 acres, colocation facilities range from 2–5 acres, while edge centres are more compact at 0.5–2 acres.

“Large hyperscale operators prefer direct ownership for 50–100 MW expansions, while colocation players often opt for long-term leases in strategic clusters,” said another real estate developer in data centre domain. “But irrespective of the model, the underlying demand is the same—high-quality, power-rich, fibre-dense land,” he said.

Experts said that states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka offer subsidised industrial land and incentives like tariff rebates and capital subsidies.

“State governments are catalysing this momentum through incentives such as capital subsidies and single-window clearances. Such initiatives strengthen the ecosystem essential for accelerated digital growth, data localisation, and long-term infrastructure resilience,” Sarin said.

What developers are offering

Developers are now delivering campuses that include dual or triple 50–100 MW power feeds, building shells with cooling and electrical backbones, carrier-neutral fibre networks, substation-ready infrastructure, and sustainability systems such as recycled water plants and heat-recovery systems.

Sarin said that a well-managed, ready co-location facility where utilities, security, and operational frameworks are already in place—provides operators with a complete, scalable solution. “This integrated model ensures efficiency, reliability, and faster deployment,” he said.

Surajit Chatterjee, Managing Director and Head, Data Centre, India, CapitaLand Investment, said that India’s data centre landscape is undergoing a “decisive transformation” from standalone developments to integrated, campus-scale infrastructure shift that has enabled developers to create true plug-and-play data centre campuses.

Chatterjee said that such plug-and-play data centre campuses offer fully planned land parcels, pre-approved master plans, dedicated substations or guaranteed power allocation, high-speed fibre connectivity, and built-to-suit shells that can go live in record timelines.

“This integrated model is compressing the traditional 28–30-month cycle from land acquisition to operations. This is one of the key reasons hyperscalers are now willing to commit to 10–15 year leases or renewals as soon as a campus is announced,” he said.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO for India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa at CBRE, said that setting up a data center requires several critical inputs including large power sources, specialized equipment (generators, switchgear, chips), vast amounts of water for cooling, and regulatory clarity.

"As the demand rises rapidly on the back of Gen AI and IoT, several geographies may not have the infrastructure to meet it immediately. With the plug-and-play campuses, some factors can be made readily accessible to the operators, reducing the delays," he said.

Rising demand across cities

Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Noida and Hyderabad are emerging as the core markets due to their strong power availability, fibre connectivity and regulatory support. Tier-II cities are also emerging as preferred locations for edge data centres.

According to developers, AI and GPU-driven workloads are accelerating requirements for large, modular campuses that can be expanded in phases.

Chatterjee said that India’s installed capacity has already expanded from 350 MW pre-COVID to 1.2 GW today and is on track to reach nearly 3 GW by 2028, powered by hyperscaler growth and increasing enterprise workload densities.

As demand intensifies, experts say that plug-and-play data centre parks will become the industry standard.