CHENNAI CENTRAL

CHENNAI IS TRUMPING MUMBAI, DELHI-NCR AND HYDERABAD TO EMERGE AS THE NEW OFFICE REAL ESTATE MARKET. BUT THE RECENT CYCLONE HAS EXPOSED THE CHINKS IN ITS ARMOUR

- VIDYA S.

CHENNAI, THE NEW OFFICE HUB

With an uptake of 6.5 million sq. ft of office space during January-September 2023, Chennai stands shoulder to shoulder with major markets like Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad

Chennai is a diversified market with demand being driven by not just the IT sector, but also from banking, logistics, engineering, SaaS and GCCs

A confluence of factors—a thriving economy, a pool of skilled and stable talent, robust infrastructure, and notably lower occupancy costs compared to its counterparts— are responsible for the city’s increasing allure among developers and occupiers

But the recent Cyclone Michaung, which brought the city to its knees, exposed chinks in its armour

Now, nearby Coimbatore is also emerging as one of the most preferred Tier II office locations in India

A CITY ONCE considered an underdog now stands tall. In India’s highly competitive office real estate market, which has traditionally been dominated by cities like Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, a new protagonist is emerging—Chennai. “It is the only city that has seen growth in the office [real estate] markets this year so far,” says Chandrakant Kankaria, Joint MD of Olympia Group, which is coming up with a 1.2 million sq. ft (msf) tech park in prime Chennai office locality Guindy.