IFC Invests ₹225 Crore to Transform India's Warehousing Network

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested ₹225 crore in NDR Smart Spaces, a newly established platform of the NDR Group, to expand Grade A warehousing and logistics infrastructure across India.

The equity investment will support a development pipeline of around 20 million sq ft across 14 cities, including nearly 8 million sq ft already under construction. The portfolio will comprise dry warehouses and cold storage facilities, with a focus on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

Around 1.5 million sq ft of the planned portfolio will be dedicated to cold storage, helping strengthen India's cold-chain network and address post-harvest losses in the agricultural supply chain.

The project is expected to create around 24,000 direct jobs across logistics, operations, maintenance and management. NDR Smart Spaces also plans to develop its facilities in line with the Advanced EDGE green building standard, targeting a 40% reduction in energy consumption and 20% reduction in water consumption.

The investment marks IFC's entry as an equity investor in the NDR Smart Spaces platform, which is separate from the NDR InvIT Trust. The partnership comes amid rising demand for organised warehousing and logistics infrastructure, driven by e-commerce, manufacturing, retail and the formalisation of supply chains across India's emerging urban centres.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.