CHENNAI: Chennai’s real estate sector is booming, with the city’s office space expected to surpass 100 million square feet by 2026, up from the current 89 million sqft, according to a new report. The report, ‘Tamil Nadu: The State of Unlimited Possibilities’, jointly released by CBRE South Asia and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Tamil Nadu, highlights how industry-focussed policies are attracting investments and creating jobs, making the state a major business hub. Over the past two years (2022-24), private equity investments in Chennai’s office market reached $1.19 billion.
Once dominated by technology firms, Chennai’s office space is now seeing a growing presence of companies from the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector and the life sciences industry. BFSI firms are focussing on digital transformation through analytics and cloud technology, while life sciences companies-supported by leading research institutions-are expanding rapidly.
In fact, the life sciences sector absorbed 0.8 million sqft in 2024, marking a 60% increase from last year. Key areas of growth include biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and regenerative medicine. Chennai is also emerging as a major player in Global Capability Centres (GCCs), ranking third in GCC leasing (2022-24) after Bengaluru and Hyderabad. US-based firms have been the most active in setting up operations in the city. Additionally, Chennai has become India’s second-largest data centre market, trailing behind only Mumbai.