In a groundbreaking move, Google has committed to investing $6 billion to build a massive 1-gigawatt data centre and its supporting power infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh, marking Alphabet Inc.’s first major data infrastructure investment in India.
The facility, which will be situated in the port city of Visakhapatnam, is set to become the largest data centre in Asia in terms of capacity and investment size. Sources within the state government revealed that $2 billion of the investment will be dedicated to developing renewable energy to power the centre.
This initiative is part of Google’s wider multi-billion-dollar data centre expansion strategy across Asia, with similar developments ongoing in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. The project arrives despite global economic uncertainties and reflects Alphabet’s long-term vision to enhance cloud computing and AI infrastructure.
Andhra Pradesh’s IT Minister, Nara Lokesh, currently in Singapore for investment discussions, declined to comment directly on the Google deal but hinted that major announcements were on the horizon, including those not yet made public.
Since its 2014 bifurcation and the loss of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh has intensified its efforts to attract significant investments to stabilize its economy. Lokesh disclosed that the state has already secured commitments for 1.6 GW of data centre capacity, with a goal to scale that figure to 6 GW within five years. The state also plans to build three new cable landing stations in Visakhapatnam to create a robust global data connectivity infrastructure, which Lokesh says will rival, and potentially double, that of Mumbai.
To support the electricity-intensive data centre ecosystem, Andhra Pradesh will require up to 10 GW of power generation capacity. While a majority of this will come from renewable sources to meet sustainability standards, Lokesh acknowledged that a portion will still depend on coal-fired plants to ensure uninterrupted supply. He described the state’s energy proposition as unique, with green energy at its core, reinforcing Andhra Pradesh’s bid to become a premier digital infrastructure hub in India and Asia at large.