Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, along with Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, laid the foundation stone for the Google Cloud India AI Hub in Visakhapatnam on April 28 marking the beginning of a new era in the state’s technological journey.
Google is going to invest $15 billion in the project, making it one of the largest foreign direct investments (FDIs) in India’s history. The data centre with a total capacity of 1 gigawatt will be developed across nearly 600 acres in Tharluwada, Adavivaram, and Rambilli regions.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chandrababu Naidu urged Google and its partners in the project, AdaniConneX and Airtel Nxtra, to complete the project for inauguration by September 2028. He assured all the help from the state government for the early completion of the project. He termed Google’s arrival as a game-changer not just for Visakhapatnam, but for the entire state of Andhra Pradesh.
He recalled that 30 years ago, when he laid the foundation for Cyberabad as an IT City, it evolved into a hub for wealth creation.
Stating that this will be the largest data centre in Asia, the Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh will emerge as the AI data gateway for the nation. “Google, which began as a search engine, is now transforming into a growth engine for India. While everyone typically searches on Google, in this instance, Google searched and chose Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Naidu stated that Visakhapatnam has all the advantages and termed it the best destination for the mega project. Assuring that there is no shortage of water, he promised to bring water from the Godavari River to the city within 60 days.
