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Lian Jye Su, technology analyst at Omdia, told RCRTech that the scale of the investment signals confidence in the long-term growth prospects of India’s data center market
In sum – what to know:
Massive capacity planned – AirTrunk signed a Letter of Intent with the Maharashtra government for a proposed $21 billion project that aims to deliver 3 GW of IT capacity.
Hyperscalers drive demand – According to Omdia analyst Lian Jye Su, the investment reflects confidence in India’s long-term data center market, with global cloud providers expected to be the primary customers.
Maharashtra strengthens lead – Omdia said the project could reinforce Maharashtra’s position as India’s dominant data center hub, with Mumbai already accounting for roughly 50% of national operational capacity.
AirTrunk has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Government of Maharashtra for a proposed data center project worth $21 billion, marking one of the largest announced investments in India’s data center sector.
The agreement relates to a land allotment at the Raigad Pen Growth Center, a smart city located in Pen Taluka in Maharashtra’s Raigad district. According to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the planned facility will provide 3 GW of IT capacity upon completion.
The announcement comes as India continues to attract investment from global data center operators seeking to support growing cloud and AI-related demand. AirTrunk, which works exclusively with hyperscalers and cloud service providers, entered the Indian market earlier this year through the acquisition of Blackstone’s Lumina CloudInfra platform.
Lian Jye Su, technology analyst at Omdia, said the scale of the investment signals confidence in the long-term growth prospects of India’s data center market.
“The massive investment indicates strong confidence from the broader tech industry on the potential of Indian data center market demand,” Su told RCRTech. “It also shows India’s sovereign AI policies are in full swing and creating long term impact on local data and AI compute demand.”
Asked which customer groups are expected to drive demand for the planned 3 GW capacity, Su said global cloud providers are likely to be the primary customers. “It will be predominantly from global cloud providers who are targeting local AI companies and top enterprises with strong AI focus,” he said.
The project could also reinforce Maharashtra’s position as India’s leading data center market. Most of the state’s existing data center capacity is concentrated in Mumbai, one of the country’s largest data center hubs.
“This project is poised to solidify Maharashtra’s position as India’s dominant data center hub,” Su said. “Mumbai already accounts for roughly 50% of national operational capacity and a large share of the capacity pipeline. Aside from its mature connectivity network, the proximity to the financial capital and supportive policies play important roles.”
AirTrunk recently said it is expanding its presence in Malaysia with plans to invest $3 billion in two new data center campuses in Johor, further scaling its regional capacity to support growing demand for cloud and AI infrastructure.
The new facilities, JHB3 and JHB4, will be located in Iskandar Puteri, close to the company’s existing JHB1 and JHB2 sites. Together, they are expected to deliver more than 280MW of IT capacity and will use recycled water for cooling.
Founded in 2018, AirTrunk was acquired by Blackstone and CPPIB for $16.1 billion in 2024. The company entered India earlier this year after acquiring Blackstone’s Lumina CloudInfra platform.
The company currently has data centers operating or under development in Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad, as well as facilities across Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Japan.
