Google plans to invest USD 6 billion to develop a 1 GW data center and its power infrastructure in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, marking the Alphabet unit's first such investment in India. The facility will be built in the port city of Visakhapatnam and represents the most significant data center investment in capacity and size across Asia.

The investment includes USD 2 billion allocated explicitly for renewable energy capacity that will power the data center facility. Two Andhra Pradesh government sources with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed these details on Wednesday.

Regional Expansion Strategy

This data center development is part of Google's multi-billion-dollar expansion of its data center portfolio across the Asian region, which includes countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

In April, Alphabet stated its commitment to spending approximately USD 75 billion this year to build data center capacity, despite economic uncertainty resulting from U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariff offensive. Alphabet did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the Andhra Pradesh investment.

State Investment Initiatives

Andhra Pradesh's information technology minister Nara Lokesh, currently in Singapore discussing investments with government and business leaders, declined to comment specifically on the Google investment. He referenced other public announcements, including a 550-MW data centre that Sify Technologies plans to build in the state.

"We've made certain announcements like Sify, which are public," Lokesh said. "There are certain announcements which are not yet public. In October, we will make those announcements." Lokesh reported that Andhra Pradesh has already finalized investments in data centres with total capacity of 1.6 GW.

Infrastructure Development Plans

The state is working to establish three cable landing stations in Visakhapatnam as part of its infrastructure development strategy. Cable landing stations, typically located close to data centres requiring fast and reliable connections to global networks, are used to store equipment that receives and relays data from undersea cables.

"We want to create enough cable network, which will be two times what Mumbai has today," Lokesh stated. The state is also focusing on building energy infrastructure to meet the sustainability requirements of data centres. Lokesh anticipates power generation capacity requirements of as much as 10 GW from the electricity-intensive industry over the next five years. "Majority will end up being actually green energy, and that's the unique value proposition that we bring to the table," he said. However, some of the additional capacity will be coal-fired, as data centres require reliable, high-volume power throughout the day.

Discover Data Center Projects & Tenders Data before your Competitors Do!

Unlock India's Data Center Opportunities! Introducing Blackridge Research's Global Project Tracking (GPT) platform:

• Instant access to India's latest Data Center Facility Projects

• Comprehensive insights from planning to completion

• Essential details: scope, CapEx, timelines, and key contacts

• User-friendly interface for quick opportunity identification

Want more data center construction insights, including planned projects, active companies, and key decision-makers? Get started with our project tracker demo today.