From Bhiwandi to Oragadam: 13 industrial hotspots set to attract strong investor interest

India’s industrial and warehousing sector is entering a new growth cycle, with a handful of logistics and manufacturing hubs emerging as the country’s biggest real estate investment magnets. According to a recent report by Colliers India, 13 high-activity clusters across major cities are expected to command nearly 70-80 per cent of India’s industrial and warehousing demand and supply in the coming years.

The report highlights how these hotspots—stretching from Bhiwandi in the west to Oragadam in the south—have become the backbone of India’s fast-growing logistics and manufacturing ecosystem, driven by expressways, freight corridors, ports, and rising demand from e-commerce and third-party logistics (3PL) firms.

The report noted that India’s Grade A industrial and warehousing stock has nearly doubled since 2021 to touch around 300 million sq ft, making it one of the country’s best-performing real estate asset classes. Of this, the 13 high-activity clusters alone account for nearly 215 million sq ft of stock and roughly three-fourths of leasing and new supply activity recorded over the last five years.

Bhiwandi leads India’s warehousing boom

Bhiwandi continues to dominate India’s industrial and warehousing landscape with nearly 42 million sq ft of Grade A stock—the highest among all clusters tracked in the report. Its strategic proximity to Jawaharlal Nehru Port and connectivity through the Mumbai–Ahmedabad and Mumbai–Nashik expressways have made it the preferred hub for large logistics operators.

The cluster has emerged as India’s biggest destination for 3PL demand, accounting for more than one-fifth of total leasing by the segment since 2021. Bhiwandi has also become a major hub for e-commerce, FMCG, electronics and retail occupiers, reinforcing its position as a critical supply-chain node.

Interestingly, the Grade A inventory in Bhiwandi alone now exceeds the entire warehousing stock of cities such as Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Pune.

Chennai emerges as a major industrial powerhouse

While Bhiwandi dominates warehousing, Chennai has emerged as India’s strongest industrial corridor with three high-activity clusters—NH 16, NH 48 and Oragadam—making the city the most represented market in the report.

Oragadam has become a major manufacturing-led hotspot, especially for engineering companies. Along with NH 48 in Chennai, the cluster accounted for nearly 13-14 per cent of total engineering-sector warehousing demand over the last five years. Strong automobile manufacturing presence, improved regional connectivity and access to a major seaport have strengthened the cluster’s attractiveness.

The report also notes that infrastructure projects such as the Bengaluru–Chennai Expressway are boosting logistics efficiency and enhancing connectivity across southern industrial corridors.

Delhi NCR clusters attract e-commerce and logistics giants

In North India, Farukh Nagar and NH 48 in Delhi NCR have emerged as two of the country’s fastest-growing warehousing hubs.

Farukh Nagar, in particular, has become a preferred destination for e-commerce and logistics firms because of its connectivity to industrial centres through the Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors, the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.

The cluster has witnessed strong demand from multiple sectors, including 3PL, electronics, FMCG and retail, making it one of India’s most diversified logistics markets.

Pune and Bengaluru gain from manufacturing push

Chakan and Talegaon continue to benefit from Pune’s automobile and manufacturing ecosystem. Chakan has emerged as a major hub for automobile-sector leasing, while Talegaon recorded one of the lowest vacancy levels among all high-activity clusters.

Meanwhile, Hoskote-Narsapura-Soukya Road in Bengaluru has seen strong traction from automobile and retail occupiers, aided by expanding industrial activity and infrastructure upgrades.

Rentals expected to rise further up to 10%

The report noted that rentals across most high-activity clusters have already risen 15-35 per cent over the last five years. Clusters in Delhi NCR, including Farukh Nagar and NH 48, recorded nearly 30 per cent rental growth during the period.

Going ahead, average rentals across most key industrial and warehousing hubs are expected to increase by another 5-10 per cent annually, supported by growing occupier preference for institutional-grade assets and continued infrastructure expansion.

Emerging Tier-II markets on investors’ radar

While the established clusters are expected to dominate activity, investors are also beginning to track emerging Tier-II industrial markets such as Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Indore, Jaipur, Surat and Visakhapatnam.

According to the report, these markets are likely to emerge as critical supply-chain nodes over the next few years, supported by e-commerce expansion, export-oriented manufacturing and continued government focus on logistics and industrial infrastructure.

13 high-activity industrial & warehousing clusters across India's top 8 cities

“Nearly three-fourths of the large-sized deals (200,000 sq ft and above) in India’s industrial & warehousing market is concentrated in high-activity clusters. Of the cumulative ~70 million sq ft of large transactions in the last 5 years, Bhiwandi & Farukh Nagar together account for almost one-third share, driven by 3PL & E-commerce demand. Notably, other clusters such as NH 16 & Oragadam in Chennai, Hoskote-Narsapura-Soukya Road in Bengaluru, NH 48 in Delhi NCR, Dhulagarh (After Toll) in Kolkata and Changodar-Bagodara in Ahmedabad have also witnessed multi-fold leasing growth during the same period, highlighting the growing traction of large-format warehouses across the country," said Vimal Nadar, National Director & Head, Research, Colliers India.

"Going ahead, we envisage a continued increase in institutional-grade assets across these high-activity clusters, alongside a growing investor focus on expanding into other emerging markets,” Nadar added.