Google’s $10 Billion Vizag Bet: What a 1GW Data Centre Cluster Means for India
If India wants to be an AI powerhouse, it needs more than big ideas—it needs big iron: power, fiber, and buildings full of humming servers. This week, Andhra Pradesh put a marker down. The state has cleared a proposal for Google—via its subsidiary Raiden Infotech India—to invest about $10 billion (₹87,520 crore) to build a 1-gigawatt (GW) hyperscale data centre cluster in and around Visakhapatnam. Three campuses. New subsea cable landings. And a target to go live by July 2028. That’s not a press release flourish; it’s a serious infrastructure play with national implications.
What exactly is being built?
The proposal outlines three campuses in the Visakhapatnam region: Adavivaram and Tarluvada (both in Visakhapatnam district) and Rambilli (in Anakapalli district). Together, these sites are envisaged to support up to 1GW of IT load—think enough compute to power major AI, cloud, and content workloads for India and beyond. The project design includes landing three high-capacity submarine cables, building dedicated cable landing stations, and laying high-capacity metro fiber to stitch the region into global networks. Target operations: July 2028, with construction expected to start as early as March 2026 after agreements are finalized.
The state’s investment board says this is the “highest-ever FDI” into the country and pegs the economic impact at 188,000 jobs and ₹10,518 crore of annual GSDP contribution during 2028–2032. Treat those as official projections, not guarantees.
Why Vizag, why now?
Two reasons: power and pipes.
First, location. East-coast proximity shortens network paths to Southeast Asia and the Pacific, diversifying India’s connectivity beyond the traditional Mumbai-Chennai axis. The plan’s three cable landings underscore that intent.
Second, policy momentum. Multiple reports suggest the project has benefited from state- and Centre-level facilitation—including fast-track approvals via Andhra’s SIPB, and, per some reports, national-level policy tweaks to attract hyperscale data centre FDI. Even so, Google has not issued a formal corporate announcement at the time of writing, and policy details are still filtering through the media.
What changes for Indian users and businesses?
Short version: lower latency, more capacity, and potentially stronger data residency options for sensitive workloads. For startups and enterprises, a 1GW region opens headroom for AI training and inference, analytics, and media workloads without punting everything offshore. For consumers, more local infra can mean faster apps and more resilient services during peak traffic.
If the subsea pieces land as planned, Vizag could become a new network gateway for eastern India, easing pressure on West-coast routes. That’s strategic redundancy India’s internet badly needs.
India lens: sites, timelines, and local realities
Sites and scale. Reported land envelopes include ~120 acres in Adavivaram, ~200 acres in Tarluvada, and ~160 acres around the Rambilli–Achyutapuram cluster. Raiden Infotech has sought up to ~2.1GW of power allocation—more than the planned IT load—to cover redundancy and phased growth. That hints at long-term regional expansion, not just a one-and-done build.
Timelines. Andhra’s SIPB approval is in; MoU formalities between the state and Google brass are expected around October 14, 2025. “Operations by July 2028” is the working target across reports. As always with projects this large, expect phased commissioning.
Local hurdles. Land acquisition is already contested in parts of Tarluvada, with legal challenges and compensation disputes in play. The government says it will expedite, but delays are a risk factor to watch.
Renewables & power. Prior reporting around an earlier Vizag concept referenced significant renewable investments; however, in the current approvals, specific power-mix commitments aren’t public. Given the 1GW scale, grid upgrades and firming capacity will be critical, and renewable integration is likely but not yet disclosed in detail.
Sovereign/AI cloud. Google already runs regions in Mumbai and Delhi; it’s also been working on a sovereign AI cloud with an Indian partner. Vizag would be the first large east-coast hyperscale node for the company, materially shifting India’s cloud topology.
Bottom line for India right now: a third Google region would diversify geography, add massive headroom for AI, and spur east-coast digital ecosystems, but execution risks—land, power, and cables—are non-trivial.
Claimed superlative: “Asia’s largest” — does it hold?
Headlines describe this as Asia’s largest data centre cluster. A 1GW single-region plan is indeed towards the top end globally and would be Google’s largest facility in Asia by capacity, per current reporting. That said, “largest” is a moving target—rival projects are expanding across Japan, Singapore (with caps), Indonesia, and India’s west coast. Treat the superlative as provisional until commissioned capacity is verified.
Pros and cons for Andhra Pradesh & India
Upside
- Creates a new east-coast cloud/AI hub, reducing over-reliance on Mumbai/Chennai.
- Potential job creation and GSDP boost per state estimates.
- New subsea landings improve international resilience and latency.
Trade-offs
- Land acquisition friction could drag timelines and inflame local politics.
- Gigawatt-scale power draw demands grid upgrades and clear renewable/efficiency plans—details not public yet.
- “Largest in Asia” framing is unverified marketing shorthand until build-out is complete.
This is a once-in-a-decade shot at repositioning India’s internet map. Execution will decide whether Vizag becomes “AI City” or a cautionary tale in permits and power.
Risks and unknowns (as of Oct 9, 2025, IST)
- Official confirmation: No formal Google corporate press release yet; current details come from state approvals and media reports. Status: Announced/proposed.
- Land & legal: Active disputes in Tarluvada can delay acquisition and site prep.
- Power sourcing: MW-by-MW breakdown (grid vs renewables, storage) not disclosed.
- Cables: Three subsea landings are part of the plan; exact systems, routes, and landing partners are not yet named publicly.
- Jobs math: The 188,000 figure is a government projection for the 2028–2032 period; methodology and direct vs indirect split not detailed.
If the MoU lands on October 14 and site works start by March 2026, expect a tight three-year sprint. We’ll update this piece when either party publishes binding specifics on power, cables, and phasing.
So, is this good news?
Yes—with caveats. If delivered, Vizag becomes India’s east-coast cloud anchor, opens new routes to APAC, and gives startups and enterprises local AI muscle. The caveats are classic Indian infra: land, permits, power, and timelines. But make no mistake: this is the boldest single bet yet on India’s digital plumbing.