By Aishwarya

Copyright thehindubusinessline

Which cities are driving Capitaland’s India growth?

Bengaluru continues to be the largest growth market, followed by Hyderabad and Pune, and Chennai. These markets are attractive because they offer strong talent pools, robust infrastructure, and tenant demand.

Redevelopment seems to be a key focus. Why this strategy?

We see significant value in redeveloping existing assets. For instance, our Hyderabad site (ITPH) is being expanded from 1.5 mn sq. ft. to 5.5 mn sq. ft., while at ITPL, Bengaluru (ITPB), we’re converting an old car park and diesel gen-set area into 2 mn sq. ft. of offices. Redevelopment often provides better yields compared to greenfield development, especially in established locations.

How do you balance redevelopments with new projects?

Our approach is flexible. We pursue forward purchases, greenfield developments, redevelopments, and asset enhancements, depending on where we see maximum value. For older assets, we are investing in upgrades, facades, lobbies, MEP systems, to bring them to platinum sustainability levels and attract higher rents.

Beyond offices, where else are you expanding?

Data centres and logistics are key growth engines. We’ve just opened a hyperscaler-backed data centre in Mumbai – among India’s largest – and are developing three more in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. In logistics, we have around 12 mn sq. ft. under management, making us one of the top three or four players.

Occupancy across your portfolio is at 92 per cent. Where are you seeing traction?

Occupancy has remained strong, even through COVID. In Chennai, for example, occupancies rose after upgrades with rents going up by 20 per cent.

How do you see demand evolving? Are certain sectors driving growth?

IT remains core, but we’re also seeing traction from e-commerce, healthcare, semiconductors, and AI firms. Increasingly, higher value-chain work is moving to India, which gives us confidence in sustained demand across sectors.