High-activity clusters are expected to account for 70-80 per cent of India’s Grade A industrial and warehousing demand and supply in the coming years, with Chennai emerging as the leading hub with three such clusters, according to a report by Colliers India.
The report said these clusters are likely to remain at the centre of India’s logistics and warehousing expansion as existing hubs continue to scale up, strengthening the country’s position in the Asia-Pacific supply chain network.
High-activity clusters are defined as micro markets that have recorded cumulative demand and supply of more than 4 million square feet each since 2021.
India’s industrial and warehousing segment has emerged as one of the strongest-performing real estate asset classes. The report noted that the country’s total Grade A warehousing stock has reached nearly 300 million square feet, almost doubling from the levels recorded in 2021.
This growth has largely been concentrated in 13 high-activity clusters, which dominate activity among 40 identified industrial and warehousing clusters across the country.
According to the report, these 13 clusters accounted for nearly 75 per cent of cumulative demand and fresh supply since 2021 and currently hold around 215 million square feet of Grade A stock.
The clusters are spread across key consumption and manufacturing centres, including three in Chennai, two each in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Pune, and one each in Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
“Continued infrastructure development through logistics parks, industrial and freight corridors, along with sector-focused initiatives in textile, semiconductor and EV parks, are expected to further catalyse demand,” said Vijay Ganesh.
Infrastructure-led growth remained a major factor driving these clusters. Bhiwandi in Mumbai continued to be the country’s largest industrial and warehousing cluster with 42 million square feet of Grade A stock.
The report said Bhiwandi’s proximity to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port and connectivity through the Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Nashik expressways have strengthened its position as a logistics hub. Its warehousing inventory alone exceeds the total stock available in several major cities, including Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.
In northern India, Farukh Nagar and NH-48 in Delhi NCR recorded strong demand due to their proximity to industrial hubs and improved connectivity through the Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors.
In the south, NH-16 and Oragadam in Chennai witnessed increased demand driven by access to international seaports and the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, particularly from the automobile, e-commerce and third-party logistics sectors.
“Going ahead, we envisage a continued increase in institutional-grade assets across these high-activity clusters, alongside a growing investor focus on expanding into other emerging markets,” said Vimal Nadar.
The report added that emerging Tier-II cities such as Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Jaipur are expected to gain momentum as supply-chain hubs amid the expansion of e-commerce and export-oriented manufacturing.
-ANI
