Source The Hindu
VISAKHAPATNAM — In a landmark event for India’s digital economy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for Google’s massive AI-powered data centre in Visakhapatnam. Representing a staggering investment of ₹1.35 lakh crore ($15 billion), the project is being hailed as one of the largest single Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) ventures in the country’s history.
The ceremony, held at Tarluvada, was attended by Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw, State IT Minister Nara Lokesh, and top executives from Google, the Adani Group, and Airtel.
A Digital Powerhouse in the Making
The facility, officially known as the Google Cloud India AI Hub, will be a 1-gigawatt (GW) hyperscale data centre. Spanning over 601 acres across three strategic locations—Tarluvada, Adavivaram, and Rambilli—the hub is designed to anchor India’s next-generation AI workloads.
“While the entire world searches on Google, today Google has searched and chosen Andhra Pradesh,” Chief Minister Naidu remarked during his address. He noted that the project marks the beginning of a “new technological chapter,” positioning Visakhapatnam as a critical data gateway for the nation.
Key Highlights of the Project
Total Investment: ₹1.35 lakh crore ($15 billion), set to be deployed between 2026 and 2030.
Capacity: 1 Gigawatt (GW) of power, making it one of the largest such facilities in Asia.
Partnerships: Developed in collaboration with AdaniConneX and Airtel Nxtra, with core management handled by Google subsidiary Raiden Infotech.
Infrastructure: The hub will include advanced AI cloud infrastructure and will benefit from an upcoming international submarine cable landing station in Vizag, providing direct digital links to the U.S., Australia, and West Asia.
Economic Impact and Employment
The project is expected to be a massive engine for job creation, estimated to generate over 3,000 direct technical roles and thousands of indirect opportunities in sectors like cybersecurity, data science, and cloud operations. Furthermore, the investment is expected to catalyze a local ecosystem for server manufacturing, cooling technologies, and power systems.
Vision for 2028
Recalling his role in building Hyderabad’s HITEC City three decades ago, Naidu emphasized his vision to transform Andhra Pradesh into a multi-gigawatt digital hub. He has urged Google and its partners to expedite construction, setting a target for inauguration on September 28, 2028, with an invitation extended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the opening.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw lauded the state’s “speed of doing business” policy, stating that this hub will significantly enhance the resilience of India’s digital backbone and bolster the nation’s economic security in the age of Artificial Intelligence.
