Sify Technologies bets big on data centres in India, plans to add capacity

Sify Technologies already has 11 data centres spread across six cities in India -- including Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

Nasdaq-listed Sify Technologies (Sify), a leading digital ICT solutions provider in India, is planning to invest around Rs 4,000 crore in expanding its data centre presence in India in the next four years.

The company already has 11 data centres spread across six cities in India -- including Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. According to the plan, the company will be adding 200 MW additional capacity in the next four years, from the existing 84 MW now.

"In the next two years, we will double our capacity to around 170 MW that may see an investment of around Rs 2,000 crore. New facilities in Mumbai, Noida and Chennai are already planned and Hyderabad and Bengaluru are at the design stage," said M P Vijay Kumar, chief financial officer, Sify.  He said that this expansion will be funded through equity, debt and internal accruals. The company has already entered into a tie-up with Kotak Special Situations Fund (KSSF), managed by Kotak Investment Advisors Limited (KIAL), which had tied up with Sify for an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore ($135 million).

When asked about the infrastructure status announced in Budget 2022 and data policy given to the industry, Kumar said, "Infrastructure status will ensure long-term access to debt funds," he said adding that the company is keen on running the business without much government incentives.

To ensure cleaner power availability, Sify has now joined hands with Vibrant Energy Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Blue Leaf Energy Asia, which is a portfolio company of Macquarie’s GIG. The power purchase agreement between both the parties is for providing 231MW of solar and wind energy capacity to power Sify’s latest hyperscale data centres, of which 67MW solar PPA had been signed in March 2021.

"The deal at present covers around 60-70 per cent of the power requirement of Sify. This tie-up can be extended in future," said Srini Viswanathan, chief executive officer, Vibrant Energy.  He added that Vibrant is looking forward to continuing to work with Sify to support them in their 100 per cent renewable energy goals. By simultaneously investing in both solar and wind energy, Sify will soon be able to deliver most of the power required for its flagship data centres in Mumbai from renewable sources and intends to continue increasing renewable penetration across its nationwide footprint, the company said.

 “There is an intensifying narrative about adopting green energy. We decided to lead by action, as we always have done in the ICT space.  With the constantly expanding need for world-class data centre facilities to meet the burgeoning data-centric transformation of Indian businesses, we believe that investing in clean energy sources to fuel this transformation is a social imperative," said Raju Vegesna, chairman, Sify.