Pact with Google: Vizag Set to Become Data City
The establishment of data centers in and around Visakhapatnam offers strong infrastructure and digital advantages at a regional level, including improved power reliability, fiber connectivity and economic branding.
Visakhapatnam: Visakhapanam is set to become the Data City of India with the signing of a pact between Google and the Andhra Pradesh government to establish a world-class AI-powered data center here with a promised investment of $15 billion.
“The MoU has put Visakhapatnam on the global map of the world of digital technology. In another five years, the city will become the IT hub for Andhra Pradesh,’’ said BJP MLA Vishnu Kumar Raju, who laid the foundation for IT firms in the city with a company currently managed by his daughter Shyamala Deepika.
The legislator said IT and ITES firms would flock to the city, creating huge employment opportunities for the youths of north AP, changing the overall ecosystem.
Head of electrical engineering at Andhra University’s College of Engineering, Mallikarjuna Rao, said the budding entrepreneurs of the Visakhapatnam region would have the access to solve various pain-points that the industry has been facing on all the technological verticals.
“The start-ups may raise investments leading to more possibilities for employment,’’ the professor told Deccan Chronicle.
Chairman of the Investment Committee of the IT Association of AP, BL Narayana, said the IT industry was excited by the MoU signed by the state government with Google.
“This is the biggest FDI for India. Vizag will be the Data City for India, and this new-age infrastructure will create tremendous opportunities in the city and country,’’ Narayana said.
The establishment of data centers in and around Visakhapatnam offers strong infrastructure and digital advantages at a regional level, including improved power reliability, fiber connectivity and economic branding. However, their direct benefits to local villages remain limited due to the highly technical nature of operations and minimal employment potential, said CEO of Pulses Group Gedela Srinubabu.
He suggested that the government and developers integrate local skill training, preferential local contracting and environmental safeguards.
Mithil Bharadwaj, a student of cloud and quantum technology, said, "Watching Visakhapatnam evolve into a data center and AI infrastructure hub fills me with joy as a student in this field. The influx of investment from industry giants like Google, Meta, and Sify signals a wave of new opportunities for aspiring tech professionals.’’
Ministers Vangalapudi Anitha and Veeranjaneya Swamy thanked chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and IT minister Nara Lokesh for bringing Google to the shores of Visakhapatnam in a big way.