Alphabet Inc.’s $15 billion Google AI hub in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh is on track to begin operations in 2028, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said, pledging to provide uninterrupted power and water supplies despite growing concerns from residents about the strain on resources.
The state was taking all precautions into account to meet energy demands for the projects, Naidu said in an interview Wednesday in the port city of Visakhapatnam. He also flagged new data center investments by Blackstone Inc.
“At this stage, there is no going back,” he said. “We have to take it to its logical conclusion. But at the same time, we won’t compromise on public interest, either myself or Google.”
The investment in a data center and undersea cable system is Google’s biggest bet in India, and key to Naidu’s plans to create a technology hub in his state to fuel jobs and growth. The project though has faced objections from residents and environmental groups worried about water shortages and power constraints.
Opposition groups in the state like YSR Congress Party say Visakhapatnam already faces water shortages and have questioned whether the city’s infrastructure could support a project of this scale.
Naidu said Wednesday the state was preparing to meet the additional demand on resources by expanding its renewable energy capacity. Andhra Pradesh is developing nearly 160 gigawatts of green energy, including solar power and transmission infrastructure, while pursuing wind, pumped-storage and battery projects. Thermal power would help meet short-term requirements, he said.
Water supplies, another major concern, would be strengthened through interlinking and the Polavaram dam project, which is targeted for completion by March 2027, Naidu said.
The tensions over the data center buildout in India echoes growing resistance globally as local communities face strains on power, water and land supply. Protests over data centers have erupted in Europe, while countries like Australia are enforcing rules on data centers’ use of electricity and water.
Naidu said Google, as a global company, must fulfil its social responsibilities, and the project would require “mutual trust” between the company and the state. Google has said it plans to use advanced air-cooling technology, reducing the water needed to cool the servers.
Google didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Tech Hub
Naidu, 76, earned a reputation as a technology visionary by helping transform the city of Hyderabad into a tech metropolis that today hosts large campuses for companies including Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. On Wednesday, he likened the opposition he’s facing to some of his plans now to the resistance he said he faced in the late 1990s.
“When I started IT, that is around 1995, everybody opposed,” he said. “Today you have seen the benefits of IT.”
Naidu is seeking to replicate that success in Andhra Pradesh and has rolled out the red carpet for global investors with incentives and subsidies to attract companies across technology, semiconductors, electronics and manufacturing. He has set an ambitious target to grow the state’s economy by 15%, roughly double the national rate.
Naidu, a four-time chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, is a key alliance partner in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s coalition government. He’s been a strong supporter of Modi since he joined the coalition in 2024, and on Wednesday he backed the prime minister as the only leader able to deliver strong growth for the country.
“If he cannot deliver this, nobody can,” he said.
New Investments
The chief minister said the investments would generate employment and drive broader economic development, pointing to projects in steel, pharmaceuticals and tourism as well as new airport infrastructure.
Naidu said Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, would announce a data center investment in the state of around 1 trillion rupees ($10.7 billion) in the coming days. In June, AirTrunk, a data center operator backed by Blackstone, said it plans to invest about $30 billion in India by 2030 to tap the country’s expanding artificial intelligence and cloud markets.
South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp. is also looking to expand its operations in the state by bringing in more vendors and is expected to invest another 200 billion rupees, said Naidu.
AirTrunk and Kia Motors didn’t immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
Beyond attracting big-ticket investments, Naidu said his government was looking to ease the regulatory burden on smaller businesses. It plans to scrap unnecessary permissions for micro, small and medium enterprises, allowing them to start operations based on information submitted, with inspections handled by empaneled third parties.
–With assistance from Atul Dev.
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.