CARGOCONNECT-JUNE2026 - Flipbook - Page 59
MEGA LOGISTICS CLUSTERS : SPECIAL FEATURE
2x
inventory compared to
national warehousing
levels in 2021
enhanced loading dock infrastructure, stronger power
systems, and greater automation readiness are steadily
becoming standard requirements. Overall, Chadha feels
the warehousing industry is becoming increasingly
specialised, where infrastructure requirements now
vary signi昀椀cantly depending on whether the occupier
is a traditional manufacturer, an FMCG company, a
3PL operator, or a quick commerce platform.
Corridor Vs Proximity Debate
Driven by the geometric expansion of national highway
networks, multimodal transport hubs, and DFCs, the
industrial real-estate and warehousing sector is 昀椀rmly
moving away from localised city-centric hubs. Modern
occupiers are increasingly looking past the arbitrary
lines of urban pin codes, recognising that physical
proximity to a city centre matters far less than 昀氀uid,
unobstructed access to regional transport corridors.
This spatial reallocation is reshaping the economic
geography of India’s logistics networks, moving storage
and ful昀椀lment infrastructure out of congested urban
pockets and onto high-velocity corridors that are designed
strictly around transit predictability, scalability, and
long-term network resilience.
Analysing this spatial migration from an operational
standpoint, Agrawal says occupiers are increasingly
evaluating warehousing locations based on turnaround
times, transportation optimisation, regional distribution
capability, and proximity to highways, rail terminals,
ports, and consumption catchments rather than municipal
boundaries. As a result, strategically located logistics
parks along major freight corridors are witnessing
signi昀椀cantly stronger demand compared to traditional
city-centric warehouses.
According to Chadha, businesses today are no longer
asking merely where demand is located; instead, they
are focussing on how e昀케ciently goods can move across
the larger supply chain network. As a result, direct
access to highways, industrial corridors, ports, rail
connectivity, and airports has become far more important
than maintaining a warehouse within municipal city
boundaries. For instance, he notes that several occupiers
serving Chennai are increasingly preferring locations
such as Oragadam and Sriperumbudur, not because
they are closer to the urban core, but because they o昀昀er
superior connectivity to manufacturing zones, ports,
and national highway networks. Similar trends are
emerging around Bengaluru through Hosur and across
Core mega clusters will
continue functioning
as dominant logistics
anchors while nearby
satellite locations
and peripheral micromarkets emerge to
absorb spillover demand
and support future
expansion.
SANDEEP CHADHA
FOUNDER & MANAGING
DIRECTOR,
WAREHOUSTER GROUP
NCR through strategically connected logistics corridors.
At the same time, Chadha emphasises that the
intensity of this shift varies across business models.
While q-com and hyperlocal delivery operations still
require proximity to end consumers, sectors such as
manufacturing, FMCG, retail distribution, 3PL, and
large-scale supply chain operations are now prioritising connectivity and cargo movement e昀케ciency over
city-centric presence. Simply put, the warehousing
sector is steadily moving away from location prestige
toward movement e昀케ciency as the primary driver of
occupier decision-making.
Taken together, these developments clearly indicate
that India’s industrial real-estate market is successfully
navigating a complex yet highly rewarding maturity
curve. The ongoing transformation demonstrates that
the sector is steadily moving beyond its fragmented
legacy towards a more integrated, institutionalised,
and e昀케ciency-driven future.
Panattoni remains highly optimistic about the
sector’s growth trajectory and its role in supporting the
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