Feasibility model · Free, no signup
Data centre cost and ROI
Planning a data centre and need the numbers for a bank loan or project report? Pick a build like yours, see what it costs, how fast paying tenants fill it, and whether it can carry the loan. Then change any number to match your plan.
- Starts from typical Indian numbers. Change any of them.
- Download a spreadsheet, print it, or share a link
- A planning check on your numbers, not a bank’s decision
Set-up costEverything it takes to build: land, building, power and cooling equipment, and a buffer for surprises. Loan interest during construction comes on top.
₹398 Cr
Project return (IRR)The yearly return of the data centre itself, before any loan. Compare it with the return you need (your hurdle rate).
13.9%
Return on your moneyEquity IRR: the yearly return on the money you put in yourself, after loan repayments. Borrowing makes it swing more, both ways.
18.9%
Pick a starting point or set the six key numbers, read the result, then fine-tune anything below. Download, print or share a link to this exact model.
Built as 10 MW of Tier III capacity, this data centre costs ₹398 Cr to build (₹41.5 Cr per MW), keeps a 36% operating margin, pays back in 9.4 years and returns 18.9% a year on your own money. The detail is below.
A planning check on the numbers entered, not a lender’s decision. Banks run their own appraisal.
Your project
Start from a build like yours, then set the six numbers that drive everything: how big, how much backup, whether you build in one go or in stages, what you charge, how much you borrow and what power costs. Everything else (equipment, cost lines, tax) starts at a typical Indian figure you can change further down.
Pick a starting point. Each one is an illustration built from typical Indian numbers, not a recommendation and not ClarWorks data. Change anything after.
Build scheduleWhen each block of capacity is built and how fast it fills with paying tenants (lease-up). Later phases can be built in a set year, or once the previous phase fills up.
State data centre policies (Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana) offer capital subsidies, stamp-duty waivers and 10–15 year electricity-duty exemptions. They are not included in this model and can lift the return noticeably, so check what your state offers.
What it costs and what it returns
These update as soon as you change any number. The “usual” ranges are rough planning ranges from public sources, not ClarWorks data and not a promise.
Building 10 MW of Tier III capacity costs ₹415 Cr all in, or ₹41.5 Cr per MW (within the usual ₹35 Cr–₹50 Cr for Tier III). Once paying tenants have filled it (around year 4) it earns ₹188 Cr a year and keeps ₹68.1 Cr as operating profit, a 36% margin (within the usual 35–50% when tenants pay for their own power). It pays back in 9.4 years (usual range 6–9 years) and returns 13.9% a year on the whole project and 18.9% a year on your own money over 10 years. That is ₹105 Cr ahead of the 11% a year you set as your minimum return.
Bottom line: Works at these numbers
Total investmentEverything it takes to build: land, building, power and cooling equipment, a buffer for surprises and loan interest during construction.
₹415 Cr
₹41.5 Cr per MW
Inside the usual ₹35 Cr–₹50 Cr/MW
Yearly revenue, once leased upWhat the facility bills in a year once paying tenants have filled it to its steady level (lease-up is the time that takes). This is the top line, not take-home.
₹188 Cr
Operating profit a yearEBITDA: profit from running the facility, before loan interest, depreciation and tax, once it is leased up.
₹68.1 Cr
36% margin
Inside the usual 35–50%
PaybackYears of operation until the cash earned covers what went in.
9.4 yr
Above the usual 6–9 yr
Project return (IRR)The yearly return of the data centre itself, before any loan. Compare it with the minimum return you want (your hurdle rate).
13.9%
Return on your moneyEquity IRR: the yearly return on the money you put in yourself, after loan repayments. Borrowing makes it swing more, both ways.
18.9%
Value above your hurdle (NPV)Net present value: all future cash in today’s money, minus the investment, at your minimum return. Above zero means the project beats it.
₹105 Cr
Your money at peakThe most of your own money that is in the project at any point before it starts paying you back: the cheque you must be able to write.
₹175 Cr
Lowest loan cover (DSCR)Debt service coverage ratio in the worst year: cash available ÷ loan repayment. Banks usually look for 1.3× or more; below 1.0 the facility can’t pay its EMIs from its own cash.
1.29×
Money back per ₹1 you put inEquity multiple: total cash returned to you for every rupee of your own money, over the years modelled.
5.83×
Break-even occupancyHow full the facility must be, once leased up, just to earn your minimum return. The closer this is to your expected level, the thinner the cushion.
80%
Data halls and racksData halls are the secure rooms that hold the server racks; racks are the cabinets tenants rent. Both are worked out from the IT load.
5 · 1,250
Cash position over time
Capacity built and how full it is
Fine-tune the assumptions
Each section below opens to show the detail. Change any number and the result above updates straight away.
Set-up cost (CapEx)
₹415 Cr in total · ₹41.5 Cr per MW · 5 data halls. Open to change the equipment and each cost line.
Running costs (OpEx)
₹120 Cr a year once leased up. Open to change maintenance, insurance, staff and yearly increases.
Rent, loan, tax and the year-by-year P&L
₹188 Cr a year in revenue once leased up · 60% loan at 10% over 12 years · lowest loan cover 1.29×. Open for the rent terms, the loan, tax, the sale at the end and the profit and loss for every year.
Energy, water and carbon
1,24,830 MWh a year · 89,163 tonnes CO₂e a year · actual power overhead (PUE) 1.50. Open for energy use, emissions and what limits the build.
Charts
Where the money goes, when it pays back, how fast it fills, revenue against running costs, profit over time and loan cover.
Stress test
What breaks the case first? Move one number (rent, occupancy, power price and more), see which matters most, change two at once, or work back from the return you want.
Compare scenarios
Save the current numbers as a snapshot (base case, best case, worst case) and compare them side by side.
Advisory · Project report and bank finance
Taking this to a bank? Get the numbers checked first.
We go through your model with you: the assumptions, the costs, the loan structure and the risks. If you need one, we write the detailed project report your bank will appraise. The loan decision is always the bank’s; our job is to make your case clear and complete.
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