Vietnam's Vin Group to Invest $8.5 Billion in Maharashtra for Sustainable Development

Mumbai: Vietnam-based Vin Group Joint Stock Company has announced a significant investment of around US$8.5 billion over the next two years in the state of Maharashtra. This investment will be directed towards sustainable urban development, industry, tourism, renewable energy, and electric mobility. The projects will span 5,000 acres in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and are expected to create approximately 24,700 jobs.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra State Industries Department and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. This agreement emphasizes the development of large-scale smart residential townships.

An integrated township will be developed on 2,700 acres, with a population of about 200,000 residents envisaged. Alongside this, the company plans to launch electric taxi services to promote electric mobility in the state. A mobility-as-a-service platform will also be developed to support this initiative.

Fadnavis also inaugurated the MB3 data centre of Equinix at his official residence, Varsha. This data centre, spread over 3.7 acres, has been established with a total investment of about US$750 million (approximately Rs 6,000 crore). Once fully operational, the data centre will have a capacity of over 4,200 cabinets and will be connected to Equinix's global data centres through a hybrid multi-cloud interconnection facility, as stated in a government press release.

A significant portion of the energy required for the data centre will be provided by a 26.6 MW solar project in Yavatmal. Currently, about 60% of the energy used in Equinix's data centre in Mumbai is sourced from this solar project, further highlighting the commitment to renewable energy and sustainability.