Rs 6 Lakh Crore Flows Into Visakhapatnam As Tech Giants Line Up Mega Projects

Visakhapatnam: Another jewel is set to adorn Andhra Pradesh’s port city, Visakhapatnam, as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) plans a massive investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore to establish a 1,000 MW data centre. The investment will be made in phases, with the company expected to make a formal announcement about the project soon.

It is learnt that recently, TCS Chairman Chandrasekaran met Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat and discussed the data centre proposal. Chandrasekaran also informed the CM about the global giant's plan to invest about Rs. 2.60 lakh crore in the data centre in the next two years.

The data centre project is poised to generate indirect employment more than ten times higher than the direct employment, with Visakhapatnam set to become an AI (Artificial Intelligence) city with the establishment of the data centre. “The data centre will employ about 12,000 people, as the government has allocated 22 acres of land for the establishment of its own campus. Similarly, Cognisant and Accenture will employ another 25,000 people. Another 15,000 people are likely to get employment through Satva and AMNS,” officials said.

Experts say the facility will also help in the development of high-speed computing, animation, gaming, VFX, and AI cloud sectors. Large companies will find suitable conditions to invest in those sectors. Giant companies like Google, TCS, Cognisant, Accenture, Sify, and Meta have already signed agreements with the government to start operations from Visakhapatnam,” they say.

Google has already agreed to set up its largest data centre (1,000 MW) outside the US for Rs. 56,000 crore. The deal is expected to be signed in November. Google subsidiary Raiden Infotech India will set up a 1,000 MW data centre with an investment of Rs 87,520 crore. The cabinet meeting held on Friday approved the company's proposal.

Sifi Technologies is also going to set up a data centre with an investment of Rs. 16,000 crore. Meta will also set up a landing centre in Visakhapatnam via submarine cables, which will help in the establishment of companies like AI, quantum, and blockchain technology.

NTPC is developing a green hydrogen hub with an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore. ArcelorMittal will develop a steel industry and a captive port with an investment of Rs 1.30 lakh crore. Including investments through data centres, the total investment in Visakhapatnam has reached around Rs 6 lakh crore in the 15 months since the coalition government came to power.

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