Data Centre Plans? Microsoft Buys Another 16.4 Acre Plot In Pune For INR 435 Cr

After buying a land parcel worth INR 520 Cr in Pune, big tech major Microsoft has now reportedly purchased another 16.4 acre plot in the city’s tech hub Hinjewadi for a consideration of INR 453 Cr. 

With this, the company has acquired more than 30 acres of land in Pune in the past one month for a total investment of INR 973 Cr. 

As per Economic Times, the deal for the 16.4 acre plot was registered on September 5, adding that Microsoft paid a stamp duty of INR 27.18 Cr and a registration fee of INR 30,000 for the deal. Property registration documents reportedly showed that the company bought the land from an entity called Viva Highways Limited.

This follows a similar transaction, registered on September 6, wherein Microsoft acquired a land parcel spread over 13.6 acres for nearly INR 520 Cr, including stamp duty worth INR 31.18 Cr.

While there was no official clarity on the reason behind the deal, Microsoft, in the recent past, has been aggressively investing in India’s real-estate to set up data centers and “development hubs”.

For instance, the company acquired a 25-acre land parcel through a long-term lease in Pune in 2022 through an agreement with Finolex Industries. Microsoft plans to establish a hyperscale cloud capacity data centre with a built-out capacity of 100 MW on the plot.

More recently, the big tech major also recently inked a pact with the Telangana government to develop a large data centre in Hyderabad. It is also mulling investing more than INR 15,000 Cr in its upcoming data centres in the state. 

It is pertinent to note that more and more big tech companies are making a beeline to set up data centres in India to cater to the growing demand for cloud services in India. Additionally, the demand has also been driven by more and more businesses moving online, growing data usage, the onset of 5G and data localisation mandates.

Additionally, as online penetration increases, companies are also setting up data centres in India to capitalise on growing avenues such as digital payments, gaming, among others. 

Besides Microsoft, Google too has been either acquiring or leasing land parcels in India in droves. Earlier this year, Google was said to be in advanced talks to buy a 22.5-acre land parcel in Navi Mumbai’s Juinagar to build the tech giant’s first-ever captive data centre in India for INR 850 Cr. 

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