Digital Connexion’s MAA10 Data Center, Chennai

Digital Connexion, a joint venture (JV) between Brookfield Asset Management (Brookfield), Reliance Industries Limited and Digital Realty, has launched their first data centre campus, MAA10, located on a 10.5 acre campus in Chennai’s Ambattur Industrial Estate – an important industrial and manufacturing hub close to Chennai’s city centre, airport and other major services. The state-of the-art facility provides the full spectrum of a highly connected and scalable data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions.

The Campus is expected to cater 100MW IT load, largest in Chennai bringing together enterprises, network service, cloud and IT providers to give customers and partners a key connectivity gateway to Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. The futuristic, well architected and executed campus hosts 230KV substation, diverse network paths, security control centre, material handling lanes and multiple access roads.

Highlights of MAA10:

1. The first phase of the project, boasts a 20MW capacity, N+2 cooling, round-the-clock onsite security, and is IGBC Green Data Center Platinum certified and compliant with major standards. 
2. The design, construction & operational practices of MAA10 reinforces the value of sustainability, which is a vital part of Digital Connexion’s growth. Not only did the project maximizing energy and water efficiency, but the facility also optimized renewable energy sources like harvesting solar power via rooftop solar panels on-site.
3. MAA10 has the first of its kind in India, maglev technology-based chillers and integrated prefabricated communicable skids and other critical equipment reflecting highly skilled vendor pool in the industry.
4. The facility also features modular infrastructure design, enabling customers to scale their infrastructure as data demands grow.

Achieving exemplary outcomes and ensuring future resilience, the project is recognised for its tangible success and enduring impact.

Linesight value add

Linesight was engaged by Digital Connexion to provide cost management services for the project and formed a key part of construction project team.

• Cost reports – The Linesight team demonstrated understanding of Digital Connexion’s work breakdown structure (WBS) and successfully delivered multiple purchase orders integrated into a WBS-themed cost report.
• Change control management – With Linesight’s proactive and collaborative approach, the team also developed a bespoke CAPEX sheet format and mapped out all purchase orders according to various codes and categories. This allowed the team to effectively manage change orders and achieve cost savings.
• The team also provided transparent and accurate assessment reports and local benchmark data as well as lessons learnt as part of the final account statement.
• Linesight and Digital Connexion leveraged their global expertise to deliver India’s first data centre to adopt cutting-edge construction techniques and technologies.

At the MAA10 launch event, Hon’ble Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services Dr. Palanivel Thiagarajan said:

I extend my sincere gratitude for the invitation to attend the inaugural ceremony of Digital Connexion’s premier data centre. I am delighted to observe Chennai’s rapid emergence as a highly sought-after hub for data centres within the Indian landscape. The convergence of entities such as Jio, Digital Realty, and Brookfield at this event is indeed a commendable collaboration. As India undergoes digital transformation, marked by the digitization of our economy, substantial growth in exports, and Software as a Service (SaaS), Chennai stands prominently as the capital of SaaS in the country. In light of these developments, I anticipate a significant upswing in the establishment and expansion of data centres to meet the demands of our increasingly digitized society.

Linesight, together with Digital Connexion, was honoured to have recently won the award for Data Centre of the Year 2024 at the RICS South Asia Awards for this project, which you can learn more about here.

For more information about Digital Connexion’s MAA10 project, click here.