Brookfield forms JV for data centres

Brookfield Infrastructure, part of Canada’s Brookfield, and Nyse-listed Digital Realty, the global provider of data centres, announced on Wednesday that they have set up an equal joint venture to develop data centres in the country. The JV will operate under the brand name BAM Digital Realty.

The JV will expand Brookfield Infrastructure’s global data infrastructure portfolio, which includes $23 billion in assets across data transmission, distribution and storage.

It has 139,000 operational telecom wireless towers in the country and intends to expand to 175,000 in the near term.

Brookfield has over a decade of experience in investing in India, with around $20 billion of assets under management. They include infrastructure, renewable power, real estate, and private equity.

BAM Digital Realty plans to acquire land parcels in multiple Indian metros for the development of data centre campuses. This is to support the needs of global hyperscale service providers as well as international and local enterprises.

The joint venture expects to design, build and operate sustainable facilities, drawing upon the firms’ broader commitments to sustainable operations, including carbon reduction initiatives, a release from the JV said.

“India is a rapidly emerging data centres market and offers a bright future, with accelerating adoption of digital business models among a population that recognizes the role of technology for future economic development,” said Digital Realty chief executive officer (CEO) A. William Stein.