The Adani Group, an Indian Multinational Conglomerate, plans to give a sum of INR 2,500 crore to set up a ‘hyperscale’ data center (DC) in Chennai, India, called Adani Chennai – 1. The government official said that the foundation stone of the project was laid last week. After Mumbai, India,  this step will boost the city’s attempt to become the country’s second-largest Data Center hub.

This Data Center, Adani Chennai – 1, will be located at the Siruseri IT Park that houses companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant, and FSS Ltd. The Adani Group said that it will be the most significant hyperscale tier – 3 DC in Chennai with a 32 MW IT load. Plus, it will appear as a one-stop-shop for the telecom and IT infrastructure needs of hyperscale customers. Yet another belief is that it can turn Chennai into South-East Asia’s DC hub.

In July, Adani Enterprises Ltd. communicated to the Bombay Stock Exchange that they have entered into a non-binding pact with the Tamil Nadu government. They have come together to explore the possibilities and to set up a hyperscale DC in the state. The new branch of DC is an addition to the Data Centers in Indian cities- NCR, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

There are already four data centers in Chennai. They have over INR 8,300 crore investment commitments from four large companies, including HDCI Data Center Holdings, Yotta Infrastructure, and Singapore-based ST Tele Media. The investment commitment from Adani will take the figure to INR 10,000 Crore.

Why Chennai?

You must be thinking why Chennai, out of all other Metropolitan cities, gets a chance for DC investment. The city has become a magnet for DC investments for various reasons. One reason is the submarine cables that land in Chennai, making it easy for Data Center establishment. One of the reasons is also strong security, owing to which state governments wanted to have DCs located within the country.

The city is also equipped with good optic fiber network connectivity with three undersea cable landing stations. Additionally, the city has adequate real estate and power, which are vital for data centers.

Apart from all these reasons, the state government of Tamil Nadu is proactive and highly encourages IT infrastructure, which adds to the advantage.