Visakhapatnam: Tarluvada, a nondescript village in Anandapuram mandal in this district, which doesn't boast of having a bank branch or an even an ATM, has hit the global headlines with Google announcing its $15 billion AI-propelled one gigawatt hyperscale data centre hub, for which Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is set to perform bhoomi puja on April 28. Home for about 3,000 people, mostly farm labourers, the residents pinned high hopes on their economic prosperity due to Google's mega investment not knowing anything whether the project will have any environmental impact on them.
Earlier, the villagers had rejected attempts to locate a battery making unit and quarrying project due to fears. Bali Venkat Raju, who surrendered his land for the project voluntarily, toldBizz Buzzduring a visit that there could be some adverse impact as claimed by social activists and Opposition leaders, but a very big investment by Google will definitely make a difference in their lives. Immediately after Google signed a MoU in New Delhi last October, ASP Technologies came forward to invest Rs.2,387.81 crore in the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility. This is the first project being allotted land at Re.1 per acre under India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). The state government has allotted over 600 acres in three in the Visakhapatnam and Anakapalli districts for a 1-gigawatt (GW) AI-powered data centre hub, to be developed by Google's subsidiary, Raiden Infotech India Pvt. Ltd
The company, which floated multiple SPVs will establish data centres at Tarluvada over 266.60 acres serving as a primary hub and two more centres in 174.80 acres at Rambilli in Anakapalle district and 160 acres in Adavivaram-Mudasarlova in Visakhapatnam district.
The ambitious project, which will be executed over next five years, will bringhigh-capacity subsea cables, fiber connectivity and heavy water usage for cooling the systems.
Raiden has announced partnerships with Adani Infrastructure and Nextra Data (Airtel). With an aim to meet the demand for AI workloads, the Google project is expected to be the largest data centre hub in Asia.
"Our aim is to convert Visakhapatnam into a global AI hub ushering in a new technological revolution," IT, Electronics and Education Minister Nara Lokesh, who played a key role in convincing the Google leadership to invest heavily out of the United States by setting up the project in Visakhapatnam, said earlier.
The state government compares the future growth scenario in Visakhapatnam with that of Hyderabad which emerged as an IT hub after Microsoft set up its campus there. During his address at India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February, Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, painted a rosy picture about the scripting success story of Visakhapatnam transforming into an AI hub in future. He recalled his experience and said he used to pass through Vizag on the Coromandel Express during his IIT days at Kharagpur. "While commuting from Chennai for his IIT days in Kharagpur, I never imagined that the "quiet coastal city" will once head towards turning into a global AI hub," he said.
As a prelude to the launching of the Google project, the Andhra Pradesh government said in social media posts: "India's AI future takes a giant leap from Vizag. Landmark initiative with $1 5billon investment is set to establish a 1,000 MW hyperscale AI Data Centre - positioning Andhra Pradesh at the forefront of global digital infrastructure. With support from industry leaders like Google Cloud and AdaniConneX, Vizag is emerging as a powerhouse for AI, innovation, and next-generation technology. A proud moment under the visionary leadership driving growth, jobs, and a digital-first economy."