Colt DCS and RMZ Forge $1.7bn India Data Centre Partnership
Data centre operator Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS) has entered a joint venture with RMZ, an Indian real estate and infrastructure firm, to invest US$1.7bn in India’s data centre market.
The partnership marks RMZ’s entry into the digital infrastructure sector, bringing its experience in real estate development to complement Colt DCS's operational expertise in running data centres.
The venture will focus on developing sites in Navi Mumbai and Ambattur, Chennai, with plans for a third location. The combined facilities will provide 250 megawatts of power capacity – enough to support the computing needs of multiple hyperscale cloud providers, companies that operate cloud computing platforms at a significant scale.
Colt DCS, which operates carrier-neutral data centres where multiple telecommunications providers can connect, brings 25 years of experience from European and Asian markets. The firm currently manages 16 facilities across eight cities globally and has established itself in markets including Japan and India.
Infrastructure development
RMZ, which specialises in commercial real estate and infrastructure development, will leverage its supply chain relationships in India to accelerate construction timelines. The firm maintains connections with Fortune India 500 companies, which could become potential clients for the new data centres.
The partnership structure represents an equal split between both companies, combining Colt DCS's technical expertise in sustainable data centre design with RMZ's local market knowledge and two decades of experience in developing infrastructure in rapidly growing Indian markets.
Niclas Sanfridsson, CEO of Colt DCS, says: “In terms of our expansion India remains a strategic country of focus and key in terms of delivering against our aggressive growth strategy. Colt DCS has a proven track record, working with the world's largest hyperscale cloud providers and multi-national companies.”
Environmental considerations
The development will incorporate Colt DCS's approach to sustainable design. The company has committed to science-based targets for emissions reduction, aligning with international standards for net zero operations. This commitment extends to the new Indian facilities, which will be designed to optimise power usage effectiveness (PUE) - a metric that measures how efficiently a data centre uses energy.
The venture comes as demand for data centre capacity in India grows, driven by cloud computing adoption and artificial intelligence applications. These technologies require substantial computing infrastructure to process and store data, leading to increased requirements for data centre space across major Indian metropolitan areas.
The new facilities will serve multiple sectors, including banking, financial services, and media companies that require secure and reliable computing infrastructure. The initial focus on Mumbai and Chennai targets two of India's primary data centre markets, where submarine cable connectivity provides direct links to international networks.
Deepak Chhabria, CEO of RMZ Infrastructure, says: “We are witnessing an extraordinary shift in the data centre landscape, driven by the accelerating demands of cloud adoption and the AI revolution. At RMZ Infrastructure, we recognise that digital infrastructure is not just an investment theme but a cornerstone of India's economic future.”
The development programme will be executed in phases, allowing for capacity to be added in line with market demand. This approach enables the venture to scale its operations while maintaining efficiency in capital deployment.
Deepak adds: “Colt DCS’ commitment to operational excellence and innovation complements our mission to build state-of-the-art facilities that meet the evolving needs of sectors such as banking, financial services, and media. This is our opportunity to shape the future of data infrastructure in India, and we are ready to rise to the challenge.”
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