A year after the Maharashtra government approved the Green Integrated Data Centre Parks in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lodha Developers for setting up a data centre park in Palava. With a legacy of several decades in construction, Lodha will play the role of a developer for several players who are keen on setting up data centres.

Back in 2019, Government of Maharashtra declared Integrated Data Centres as a ‘Thrust Area' for industrial growth in the state. In recent times, the demand for data centres is increasing with the growth of cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital services. In a bid to ensure that data centres thrive in the state, the Government of Maharashtra introduced Green Integrated Data Centre Parks policy last year in October.

Under this policy, data centres, which are significant consumers of electricity, will be powered by green and alternative energy sources. To begin with, three parks will be set up under the programme in the MMR region.

The MoU outlines that the total proposed investment would be of Rs 30,000 crore and create 6,000 direct and indirect jobs. The park, with a planned capacity of 2 GWs, is designed to host multiple leading international and domestic players. Combined investments of over Rs 30,000 crore are anticipated from Lodha and various data centre players in this park.