India’s data centre boom is starting to reshape the real estate opportunity. What was once largely a technology infrastructure play is now creating demand for land, power and specialised buildings. Operational data centre capacity stood at around 1,030 MW in 2024 and is expected to reach 1,825 MW by 2027. By 2030, estimates range from 4,500 MW to as much as 5,000-8,000 MW (5-8 GW).
This expansion is opening a new business avenue for real estate developers. Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi NCR are emerging as key data centre hubs, with hyperscalers and colocation operators looking for suitable sites.
Delhi NCR is also attracting investments to cater to the rising demand for Artificial Intelligence. For developers, data centres offer a way to put their land and development capabilities to work in a segment that is growing alongside India’s digital infrastructure. Some real estate companies are now positioning themselves to capture this opportunity.
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#1 Anant Raj
Anant Raj is prioritising its data centre and cloud services business. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Anant Raj Cloud, is growing rapidly. Unlike pure-play tech companies, Anant Raj leverages its pre-owned tech parks and land reserves acquired at low costs. This enables lower capex and shorter construction and implementation times compared to peer groups.
From Real Estate Roots to Low-Capex Advantage
The company is moving up the value chain from colocation to sovereign cloud and artificial intelligence-related services. Revenue from data centres, infrastructure, and allied services was ₹90 crore in Q1FY27. The company has commissioned 28 megawatts (MW) of IT load capacity, including 21 MW at IMT Manesar and 7 MW at Panchkula.
Scaling to 357 MW: The Roadmap Across Haryana and Andhra Pradesh
The data centre’s IT load capacity is expected to reach 63 MW by the end of FY27. The company’s roadmap projects scaling capacity to a total IT load of 357 MW by FY32 across Haryana (Manesar, Panchkula, Rai) and Andhra Pradesh.
Manesar currently hosts 21 MW of active load, with more under development. Panchkula supports a total planned capacity of 57 MW. The company has also begun building a 100 MW capacity at the Sonepat campus.
Of this, work on the first 20 MW is currently underway. An additional 100 MW of greenfield IT load is planned for future expansion in a separate building on the site.
Sovereign Cloud Mandates and AI Integration
In Andhra Pradesh, it is also setting up a 50 MW data centre capacity. This facility will be executed in 2 phases with an investment of ₹4,500 crore. A key pillar of Anant Raj Cloud’s strategy is that the business is aligned with India’s focus on data sovereignty and Atmanirbhar Bharat directives.
It is empanelled with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as a Sovereign Cloud Service Provider. It is also empanelled with BSNL as a data centre service provider. These empanelments allow it to pursue mission-critical government and enterprise deployments.
Approximately 25% of the total 357 MW planned IT load capacity is earmarked for hosting cloud services. The company is set to launch its AI services in FY27. Anant Raj also signed an MoU with the Haryana government to invest ₹25,000 crore in data centres with cloud services between 2026 and 2032 across its three Haryana campuses.
The company is also launching an energy-efficient, AI-enabled cloud infrastructure solution in FY27. For this, it has partnered with Submer (Spain) for high-density, liquid immersion cooling systems. To source clients for data centre and cloud services, it has commissioned a subsidiary, Anant Raj Cloud Singapore, to act as an international business development centre.
Demerger into Ashok Cloud and Financial Highlights
To unlock value for shareholders, Anant Raj is demerging the data centres and cloud services business into a separate listed entity called Ashok Cloud.
From a financial perspective, revenue from operations grew by 6.6% to ₹631.4 crore. EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation) grew by 26.2% to ₹202.7 crore while margins expanded by 449 bps to 31.5%. As a result, net profit rose 18.5% to ₹149 crore.
#2 Lodha Developers
Lodha Developers’ green data centre park in Navi Mumbai is a key part of the company’s long-term business strategy. The business is handled by the rental business (RentCo). Lodha is leveraging its land holdings to expand into the data centre infrastructure business.
Leveraging Land Bank and Sustainable Infrastructure
The park spans approximately 660 acres. Lodha has already monetised approximately 130 acres of land. It plans to monetise another 150 acres over the next three to four years. The company also has 300 acres of land on its balance sheet. Management says this land offers the flexibility to sell it outright or develop it further.
The park’s current technology allows for a density of 11 to 15 MW per acre, which management notes is rising as technology evolves. Lodha’s data centre park has a zero-freshwater policy and runs entirely on recycled water diverted from municipal systems
Lodha’s strategy is to build and lease powered shells. Under this model, Lodha builds the physical structural box and delivers power to a single point in the building. The data centre business is self-funded from the land sales taking place inside the same park.
Digital Edge Entry and Surging Land Valuations
A notable development in Q1FY27 was the entry of Digital Edge India. Digital Edge is a joint venture between Digital Edge Singapore and India’s National Infrastructure and Investment Fund. Digital Edge has become a tenant at Palava Park, joining existing tenants AWS (Amazon) and STT (Temasek & KKR subsidiary).
Notably, the Digital Edge transaction was concluded at approximately ₹42.5 crore per acre. This is double the price of transactions (₹21 crore per acre) executed in 2025. Growing land value is one of the key reasons behind the higher deal. For instance, the land value at Palava has grown over 16x over the last five years.
Management believes the fair market value of the land is closer to ₹65 crore per acre. Lodha expects to reach this level within the next 18 months. The company also stated that early transactions were intentionally priced lower to establish the location.
Scaling to 1 GW and Financial Performance
The monetisation of Phase 1 land will fund the construction of 1 GW of powered shell capacity across approximately 90 acres. This is projected to generate over ₹2,000 crore of annual rental income by FY32, assuming ₹2 crore per MW for the powered shells. This rental stream is expected to play a key role in expanding the rental income by 10x to ₹3,000 crore by FY32.
Financially, Lodha delivered strong earnings in Q1FY27. Revenue grew 43.1% year-on-year to ₹5,000 crore. Net profit rose 103.3% to ₹1,373 crore. Adjusted EBITDA for Q1FY27 stood at ₹2,150 crore, up 79.1% year-on-year. Margin also expanded by 860 bps, driven by land monetisation, especially Digital Edge transactions.
Evaluating Capital Efficiency: Premium Valuations vs Historical Medians
With strong growth over the last few years, Lodha has a stronger Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and Return on Equity (ROE) in comparison to Anant Raj. In terms of valuations, both Anant Raj and Lodha are trading at a premium to the industry, but their valuations remain at a discount to their 5-year historical median.
| Peer Comparison (X) | |||||
| EV/EBITDA | |||||
| Company | Company | 5Y Median | Industry Median | ROCE (%) | ROE (%) |
| Lodha | 20.0 | 30.2 | 15.8 | 16.4 | 15.5 |
| Anant Raj | 28.0 | 32.4 | 15.8 | 12.1 | 11.2 |
For Anant Raj and Lodha, data centres are becoming more than just a diversification story.
Anant Raj is building its own data centre and cloud business, while Lodha is using its land bank to build a rental income stream. The models are different, but the objective is similar: get more value from existing real estate assets. The next phase will depend on how quickly this planned capacity turns into revenue and cash flows.
Meanwhile, keep them in your watchlist.
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Note: Throughout this article, we have relied on data from http://www.Screener.in and the company’s investor presentation. Only in cases where the data were unavailable have we used an alternative, widely accepted, and widely used source of information.
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About the Author: Madhvendra has been deeply immersed in the equity markets for over seven years, combining his passion for investing with his expertise in financial writing. With a knack for simplifying complex concepts, he enjoys sharing his honest perspectives on startups, listed Indian companies, and macroeconomic trends.
A dedicated reader and storyteller, Madhvendra thrives on uncovering insights that inspire his audience to deepen their understanding of the financial world.
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