The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has made an equity investment of Rs 225 crore in NDR Smart Spaces, a new platform of the NDR Group, to develop Grade A warehousing and logistics infrastructure across India.
The investment will support NDR Smart Spaces in developing a pipeline of around 20 million sq ft across 14 cities, including about 8 million sq ft that is already under construction. The platform will develop both dry warehousing and cold storage facilities, with a focus on tier 2 and tier 3 cities in states including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
“Logistics is the lifeblood of any economy, and in India, where per capita warehousing stock remains approximately three times lower than in similar markets, getting it right matters enormously. In partnering with NDR Smart Spaces, our joint ambition is clear: build a pipeline of Grade A warehousing that is developed, owned, and operated to world-leading standards that can carry the weight of India’s growth,” said Vikram Kumar, IFC’s Regional Industry Director, Infrastructure and and Natural Resources, Asia and the Pacific.
According to him, the investment aims at building a platform that can attract long-term institutional capital and drive innovation in the sector.
“As India continues to invest in world-class infrastructure, this partnership strengthens our ability to develop high-quality logistics and social infrastructure assets at scale. We look forward to leveraging this partnership to accelerate our growth while creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” said Amrutesh Reddy, Director, NDR Smart Spaces.
Of the planned 20 million sq ft pipeline, around 1.5 million sq ft will comprise cold storage facilities. The additional capacity aims at addressing gaps in India’s cold chain infrastructure and reducing post-harvest losses in the country’s agricultural supply chain.
According to Raj Srinivasan, CEO, NDR Smart Spaces, the investment would accelerate development of the company’s existing pipeline across warehousing and social infrastructure.
“The World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework for India puts private sector-led job creation front and center, and modern logistics infrastructure is critical to delivering on that promise,” said Shalabh Tandon, IFC’s Regional Head of Operations & Climate and Interim Regional Division Director, South Asia.
NDR Smart Spaces expects the development of its pipeline to create about 24,000 direct jobs, based on an estimated 1,200 direct jobs for every million sq ft of warehousing developed. The jobs will span logistics, operations, maintenance and management functions.
India’s logistics costs are estimated at 13-14% of GDP, compared with a global average of around 8%. The government’s National Logistics Policy aims to improve supply-chain efficiency and reduce logistics costs.
The platform will develop its warehouses to the Advanced EDGE green building standard, targeting a 40% reduction in energy consumption and a 20% reduction in water consumption. The investment also marks IFC’s entry as an equity investor into the newly established NDR Smart Spaces platform, which is separate from NDR InvIT Trust, the listed infrastructure investment trust sponsored by the NDR group.
The partnership comes as institutional investors increasingly look to India’s logistics and warehousing sector, supported by growth in e-commerce, manufacturing, organised retail and the formalisation of supply chains, while demand for organised logistics infrastructure expands beyond major consumption and industrial centres, with smaller cities increasingly emerging as warehousing and distribution hubs.
