Lodha Green Integrated Data Centre Park Announced in Palava; ₹1.3 Lakh Crore Commitment

Project Overview & MoU Details

The Maharashtra government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lodha Developers Ltd to build a Green Integrated Data Centre Park in Palava, near Mumbai. The original MoU, inked in September 2025, laid the foundation for a green integrated data centre park spanning approximately 370 acres in Palava City, located in the Thane district near Mumbai. Lodha Developers' commitment to the project grew significantly with an additional MoU signed in January 2026 to increase its investment by ₹1 lakh crore, bringing the total proposed investment to about ₹1.3 lakh crore.

Location & Regional Context

Palava City is a planned urban township near Dombivli in Maharashtra, developed by the Lodha Group, spanning approximately 5,000 acres and strategically located between Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Kalyan. With its proximity to both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, the Ambernath location offers connectivity advantages and access to key infrastructure. The project is located in the Ambernath-Palava belt of Thane district, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and adjacent to the Taloja industrial and warehousing corridor.

Palava City, established in 2009, has a total area of 20.23 sq km and a 2023 population of 200,000. Transport infrastructure includes air-conditioned buses, smart mobility hubs, and upcoming metro stations to enhance connectivity.

Green Energy & Sustainability

The project follows the Green Integrated Data Centre Parks Policy, which Maharashtra launched in October 2024, requiring all new data parks to use clean energy to reduce pollution and save natural resources. The data centre park will run on renewable and alternative energy, using clean power like solar, wind, or hydroelectric energy. Through the Maharashtra government's Green DC policy, Lodha has secured approximately 100 million liters of recycled water per day, drastically reducing the environmental impact of cooling.

Product Configuration & Land Strategy

Lodha plans to develop around 1 GW of build-to-suit data centre-powered shell capacity (custom-built buildings with power and core infrastructure, ready for data centre operators to install servers and equipment) across nearly 100 acres in Palava, entailing an incremental cost of ₹10,000–11,000 crore. Lodha's current strategy is to move from the sale of land to additionally building powered shell, and over time, the company might move from powered shell to turnkey shell, but that is at least a couple of years out.

Lodha has earmarked approximately 660 acres at Palava for data centre development, intending to monetise around 150 acres over the next few years while retaining the remaining land for future expansion and long-term development opportunities.

Anchor Tenants & Market Validation

Major hyperscalers like Amazon Data Services India and operators such as Digital Edge India have already invested in Lodha's Palava ecosystem, validating the location and project. In late 2024, Amazon Web Services acquired a 38.18-acre land parcel in Palava from Lodha for approximately ₹450 crore to develop a hyperscale data center, with the transaction registered on 12 November 2024. Singapore-based STT Global Data Centres acquired over 24 acres of land in the Palava region of Mumbai from Lodha for about ₹500 crore, in September 2025. Amazon's data center campus project in Ambernath, with construction planned from 2026 to 2029, will have an estimated construction cost of 3,500 crore INR and an IT power capacity of 473 MW.

Demand & Market Context

The demand for such facilities has grown rapidly in recent years due to the surge in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital services. The initiative reflects the growing demand for hyperscale data centres, fuelled by artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, data localisation policies, and India's accelerating digital economy. With India's data centre capacity projected to rise from 8.3 GW to 20-25 GW by 2030, this project strengthens Mumbai's position as a key hub for digital and clean energy infrastructure. Maharashtra is the leading growth market for data centers in India.

Economic & Employment Impact

The project is expected to generate around 6,000 jobs and support both domestic and international digital firms, boosting the local economy and infrastructure in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The developer expects its annual rental income to increase from around ₹300 crore in FY2025-26 to nearly ₹3,000 crore over the next six years, with the data centre segment expected to contribute the largest share of recurring revenue.