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NaBFID sanctions Rs 2,000 crore for Gramercy’s data center

Data Centers

NaBFID, Sanctioned, 2,000 Crore, 120 Megawatt

Business Honor
14 Febuary, 2025

NaBFID sanctions Rs 2,000 crore loan for Gramercy's 120 MW data center project in New Mumbai.

The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has sanctioned Rs 2,000 crore loan to Blackstone-backed Gramercy Techpark Private Ltd for the development of a 120 megawatt (MW) data center in Mahape, New Mumbai. The data center will be Gramercy's second project in the region, with work to start in mid-2025.

The funding by NaBFID is set to facilitate increasing demand for India's data centers due to rising usage of digital platforms and Internet adoption. A lot of diligence has been performed by the bank in considering potential occupancy prospects that have visibility regarding cash flow over operating periods as well as for repayments. Arrangements for power supplies have also been examined as part of the consideration since data centers use significant reliable power to provide efficiency in performance.

Indian data centers are now essential in enabling the digitalization of enterprises. The pace picked up post-COVID-19, with more businesses migrating to digital channels such as cloud services. High-speed internet access and growing demand for over-the-top (OTT) platforms, social media, and digital payments are also prime drivers for growth in the data center industry.

Along with these conventional drivers, the advent of Generative AI (GenAI), which requires high computational intensity and low latency, is also driving the need for data center capacity. The expected increase in GenAI applications is likely to drive even more demand for next-generation data center infrastructure.

Yet, data centers are highly capital-intensive, with huge investments needed for land acquisition, buildings, power generation gear, and cooling systems. An investment of Rs 55,000-65,000 crore over the next three years will be needed to address growing demand for data center capacity in India, according to Crisil Ratings. Investments go mostly into land and building infrastructure, which usually comprise 25-30% of the total capital outlay.