Mumbai records highest supply increase in data centre capacity with 24% in Asia Pacific region, adds 200MW in Q3 2021: Knight Frank

International Property Consultants, Knight Frank, in their latest Data Centre Report 2021, published in partnership with leading data centre research and analytics platform – DC Byte, evidenced that the data centre market has experienced strong momentum in 2021. The report cited that Mumbai recorded the largest supply increase, with nearly 200MW added in Q3 2021, a 24% increase in one quarter. The colocation supply in Mumbai has increased significantly in the first three quarters of this year, and for the first time the city’s total IT capacity has crossed the gigawatt mark (alongside Shanghai and Tokyo in Asia Pacific) in Q3 2021. Total IT capacity in Mumbai jumped from 812MW in Q2 to 1,006MW in Q3.

The report also cited that the quarterly take-up of IT power in Mumbai has increased from 2.78MW in Q2 2021 to 6.42MW Q3 2021, the highest quarterly take-up on record.

SUPPLY AND TAKE-UP OF IT POWER IN MUMBAI:

The Indian data centre market currently houses an estimated 445 MW of critical IT capacity in the seven cities of Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. India being one of the most populated countries in the world, rising mobile penetration is leading to massive increase in data consumption along with large and growing base of global users for digital mediums such as social media applications, IOT devices and OTT, as well as gaming platforms.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director at Knight Frank India said, “Mumbai is amongst the top established datacentre hubs in the APAC region. As digital transformation accelerates amidst the 4th industrial revolution, demand for digital infrastructure such as data centres is certain to grow. The digital economy in India is estimated to grow to a staggering US$1 trillion by 2025; data centres constitute an integral part of this growth story, which has only gathered steam since the onset of the pandemic and its associated disruptions.”

THE EMEA MARKET

The report cited that 2021 brought uncertainty as to what demand would look like after the accelerated buy-cycles of the initial COVID reaction in the EMEA (Europe, The Middle East and Africa) market. After some steady growth in Q1 and Q2, the third quarter witnessed a decline in new supply. Total supply for the region increased by around 200MW, compared with growth of 400MW in Q2 and just under 300MW in Q1.

THE APAC MARKET

In APAC, Q3 2021 saw significant acceleration in development and deal making activity. The highlight of the quarter was reported as Vantage Data Centre’s acquisition of Agile Data Centre’s business – totalling almost 170MW across key markets of Tokyo, Osaka and Melbourne, as well as taking on PCCW’s data centre portfolio of 100MW across Hong Kong and Malaysia. Total supply (live, phased, and under construction) in APAC increased by nearly 500MW in Q3, bringing total capacity in the region to over 7,500MW. Take-up was over 100MW, consistent with the quarterly average throughout 2021 to date.

Highlights on EMEA and APAC Markets

EMEA

· London witnessed the leading supply increases of 57 MW, driven by self-build announcements.

· Johannesburg also saw a significant supply increase. After 70MW was added to market supply in 2020, the first half of 2021 registered limited activity. The third quarter however, has brought 80MW of new supply, demonstrating the growth trajectory of the city and region.

· A supply increase of nearly 40MW was also registered in Moscow as regional providers advanced developments in reaction to new demand. The supply increase was close to that registered in the first quarter.

· Dublin recorded just over 60MW, up from 34MW filled in the second quarter and 21MW in the first quarter. London sold an additional 25MW, while Frankfurt recorded take-up was 17MW.

· Bucharest poised to become a data centre hub in south east Europe.

APAC

· Mumbai recorded the largest supply increase of nearly 200MW, increasing nearly 24% in Q3.

· Shanghai added just over 170MW, a 10 percent increase in total market supply, with estimated aggregate supply now standing at well over one and a half gigawatts.

· Sydney saw renewed interest from hyperscale operators, with Q3 supply increasing by a further 46MW and bringing the total increase for the first three quarters of 2021 to over 100MW.

· Aggregate supply for Seoul jumped to around 5750MW, with about 120MW of this under construction and coming online over the next few years.