Singaporean data center firm has officially announced its expansion into India.
The company this week said it had entered into a partnership with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and AGP DC InvestCo Pte Ltd (AGP) to develop a pan-India portfolio of hyperscale data centers.
The facilities developed through this partnership will operate under the brand Digital Edge DC.
The partnership’s first project is a greenfield 300MW hyperscale facility in Navi Mumbai. Construction of the 47 acre site will commence in early 2023 and the facility will be built in multiple phases. Upon completion, the data center – which will reportedly see $2 billion invested – will be fully operated by and marketed by Digital Edge DC.
Earlier this week it was reported Digital Edge and AGP subsidiary Assetz were close to acquiring a 47-acre land parcel outside Mumbai in Thane. The companies are buying the land for Rs 806 crore ($97.2m) from steel manufacturer Mukand.
Samuel Lee, Digital Edge CEO, said: “This project is another key milestone in our ongoing growth journey and adds breadth and depth to our regional platform which now spans 16 data centers across six Asian markets. NIIF and AGP bring solid local know-how to our data center expertise, making a strong combination when it comes to executing the project at speed and to international standards.”
Andrew Thomas, senior managing director at Stonepeak, added: “We believe that this is an opportune time for Digital Edge to enter the market in Navi Mumbai. Critical data center infrastructure has a long runway for growth in the country as India’s digital economy continues to rapidly expand. We have been excited to partner with the Digital Edge team since the platform’s inception in 2020 and, in NIIF and AGP, we have found ideal partners to expand into India.”
NIIF is an Indian sovereign wealth fund set up in 2015 and focused largely on infrastructure investment. Singapore-based AGP is an asset development and investment management group focused on real estate and energy infrastructure. AGP DC is the digital infrastructure platform for AGP.
Digital Edge said NIIF will leverage its local and operational expertise in developing and infrastructure investment experience, and AGP will bring real estate development and construction experience. The partnership aims to source power for its data centers predominantly from renewable energy sources.
Vinod Giri, managing partner of the NIIF’s infrastructure fund, said: “Through this platform, NIIF aims to play a key role in building quality digital infrastructure to support the Government of India’s vision to transform the country into a global data center and cloud computing hub. The platform resonates with NIIF’s investment philosophy of developing infrastructure at scale and partnering with large, credible, well-governed companies that want to expand into India. We are excited to partner with highly capable and experienced industry partners, Digital Edge and AGP, who have a track record of delivering similar large-scale projects across other countries in the region.”
Ben Salmon, founding partner of AGP, added: “AGP is excited to be partnering with Digital Edge and NIIF for the build out of this new Indian data center platform. The collaboration of skill sets between the partners positions us well to support the much needed expansion of India’s critical digital infrastructure and deliver to the high standards of hyperscale customers.”
New York-based private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners formed Digital Edge in August 2020. The company has more than a dozen data centers in operation or construction across the APAC region; including eight in Japan across Tokyo and Osaka; three in South Korea across Seoul, Busan, and Incheon; and one each in Manila in the Philippines and Jakarta in Indonesia.
In late November Digital Edge chief executive officer Samuel Lee said the company was looking to expand its presence into more markets across Asia, including India, though he didn’t include details.
The company has also recently launched a presence in China. On its website, Digital Edge said it has entered into a partnership with local operator Chuanjun Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, and established PEK1 in Beijing. Operated by Chuanjun with support from Digital Edge, PEK1 one offers 8,360 sqm (90,000 sq ft) and 7.8MW of capacity, with space for 1,800 racks.