Ivanhoé Cambridge and Bain Capital have partnered with India’s largest real estate developer Lodha to jointly invest $1bn (€950m) to develop industrial and logistics parks and in-city fulfilment centres across multiple cities in India.

The firms said the platform will jointly invest the capital to create 30m sqft of operating assets to serve India’s digital economy.

The three partners will each have an equal equity interest in the venture. Lodha will lead the development, operations and management of the assets.

The companies said the platform’s first project is a 110-acre logistics and industrial park development at Palava in Mumbai.

The platform has also started looking at the pan-India acquisitions of land and developed/ under-development projects in these asset classes, the partners said in a joint statement.

Chanakya Chakravarti, VP and managing director in India, at Ivanhoé Cambridge, said the partnership opens up new perspectives for the expansion of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s logistics portfolio in India.

Chakravarti said the new partnership potentially enables Ivanhoé Cambridge access to near city logistics opportunities as operators pivot to establish same-day delivery solutions thus creating “differentiated value in our portfolio construct and its scale”.

Ali Haroon, a managing director at Bain Capital, said: “We see a sustained, thematic opportunity to support India’s journey to a digital-first economy with high-quality infrastructure, which we believe can have a very positive impact on communities, consumers and businesses throughout the country.”

Abhishek Lodha, managing and CEO, Lodha said following the government’s focus on improving logistics efficiency and creating jobs in different parts of the country, the platform will plan the development of industrial and logistics parks as well as in-city fulfilment centres across multiple cities in India.

“And we will focus on building and operating this digital infrastructure to the highest levels of environmental sustainability with the view to creating a global benchmark.”

To read the latest edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.