Morgan Stanley Arm Prepares a Warehouse Development Near Mumbai

Morgan Stanley's private real estate investment management arm, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI), has partnered with industrial and logistics real estate developer Prakhhyat Group to develop a 7 lakh square foot warehousing project in Bhiwandi, a city close to Mumbai.

MSREI has invested approximately 7350 crores to acquire a majority equity stake in the project One K-Square, which will be developed in the Mumbai-based logistics giant's existing facility K Square Logistics Park.

In September 2021, the company concluded a $3.1 billion real estate fund and has since invested the fund's proceeds in a variety of properties. It has thus far invested in over 5.6 million square feet of logistics assets throughout India's major warehousing centres.

said Anand Iyer, vice president of MSREI India.This partnership signifies MSREI's entrance into the Bhiwandi submarket of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Sandeep Bagla, director of Prakhhyat Group, stated:

One K-Square will be constructed on 25 acres of land using international Grade A standards. The development will offer warehousing solutions to institutional clients in the ecommerce, third-party logistics (3PL), fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and fast-moving consumer durables (FMCD) industries, among others.

K Square Logistics Park, the premier development of the Prakhyat Group, spans 156 acres and has a total development footprint of over 4 million square feet. It is home to a number of domestic and international tenants in a variety of industries. Currently, the Prakhyat Group has more than 10 million square feet of industrial and logistics developments in various phases of development.

Prakhyat will be responsible for the construction of One K-Square, which is anticipated to be operational by 2026.

Industrial and warehousing have emerged as high-growth real estate asset classes, fueled by increasing consumer demand and accelerating industrial investment. The government's recent announcement of a National Logistics Policy is anticipated to further stimulate sector investments.

Due to the aggressive growth of e-commerce and the expansion of third-party logistics (3PL) companies, the warehousing industry is anticipated to register the highest ever absorption of space this year.

In light of this, multiple estimates indicate that India will require approximately $13 billion over the next decade to develop new warehouse capacity. Given the market opportunity, a robust warehousing and logistics infrastructure that adheres to global standards can assist India in attracting investment.