Qualcomm to lease seven lakh sq ft of office space in Chennai

American multinational corporation Qualcomm is leasing 700,000 sq ft in Chennai to expand
and consolidate its operation in the city. This is the semiconductor and software maker’s second
largest office deal in three months.
The company will be paying more than Rs 80 per sq ft as rent for the long-term lease, including
escalations every three years, as per the terms of the agreement, said people in the know.
“The new office will come up in the 24-acre IT SEZ, Ramanujan IT Park, in Taramani, a major
hub for technology firms. The space will be taken up in two phases by Qualcomm,” said one of
the people.
“The facility is expected to accommodate over 7,000 employees and will seat new hires that will
be part of its India growth plan,” said the person.
In late last year, the firm took more than 1.8 million sq ft spread over an entire 20-
storey commercial tower in realty developer K Raheja Corp’s information technology park in
Hyderabad. It was Qualcomm’s largest office set up anywhere outside of the US.
Qualcomm and Tata Realty & Infrastructure, which owns the Ramanujan IT Park, refused to
comment.
Qualcomm already has offices in India in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, apart from multiple
offices in Hyderabad. I
Overcoming the challenge of the work-from-home model, office real estate continued to recover
across key commercial property markets of India and has made a strong comeback.
The year 2022 has witnessed record net absorptions backed by strong supply completions and
healthy pre-commitments. The office markets in the country’s seven cities exhibit exuberance as
they posted absorption of 52.8 million sq ft of office space in 2022, surpassing that of the
previous year’s figure by a whopping 33%, according to property consulting and management
firm Vestian.
Office space completions remained upbeat as well, with the year witnessing 47.45 million sq ft
infused in the market, an increase of of 21% when compared with 2021 and bettering the figure
in 2019 by 18%, said Vestian.