CtrlS Datacenters Limited has commenced construction of its greenfield data centre in GIFT City, Gujarat. Bhupendrabhai Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, laid the foundation stone for the facility.

CtrlS Datacenters plans to invest over Rs 2.5 billion and create 1,000 jobs (direct and indirect) in the ecosystem, in multiple phases. CtrlS Datacenters has been selected after careful evaluation of various data centre companies, based on its ability to develop an ecosystem, its unique business model in creating jobs and its rated-4 infrastructure. Gujarat will be getting its first rated-4 data centre with all the managed services portfolio.

Commenting on the development, Sridhar Pinnapureddy, chairman, CtrlS Datacenters, said, “The state of Gujarat is one of the fastest-growing economic hubs in India, making it a strategic destination for CtrlS’ ongoing expansion. We are excited to bring our expertise to the state. Located in GIFT City, the data centre will be easily accessible to all major clusters of the state. GIFT City is a global financial hub and home to several large international and national banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies and is an ideal location for us. We are thankful to Gujarat government and GIFT City authorities for extending all the support for our project. CtrlS Gandhinagar 1 DC will serve as an integral part of the larger digital infrastructure ecosystem, enabling the digital growth needs and aspirations of BFSI and other industries in the region.”

Meanwhile, Bhupendrabhai Patel said, “Amidst global interest in connecting with India, GIFT City stands as a beacon, drawing major global financial organisations. Welcoming Asia’s largest rated-4 data centre, CtrlS, to Gujarat reflects our commitment. The Gujarat state government pledges comprehensive support. I am confident that CtrlS’ presence will inspire more companies to join the thriving ecosystem of GIFT City in the days ahead.”

CtrlS Datacenters’ foray and expansion into the state will further boost the digital infrastructure ecosystem in the region. GIFT City houses large banks, insurers, intermediaries, exchanges, trading companies, clearing companies, financial services companies, IT, ITeS and others. The region serves as a hub for several financial activities including offshore banking, capital markets, offshore asset management, offshore insurance, ancillary services, IT, ITeS and BPO Services.

In addition to this, CtrlS Datacenters will extend its group company Cloud4C’s managed services to give an edge to financial institutions operating in the GIFT City. Cloud4C is already working with several large financial services customers worldwide as well as with multinational banks.

CtrlS Datacenters has recently announced a $2 billion investment plan and has identified three strategic investment areas over the next six years:

  • Augmented footprint of hyperscale data centres that are custom-built for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud workloads
  • Achieve net zero
  • Augment team strength and capabilities.