Reliance Industries is reportedly poised to make a monumental investment of ₹1.6 lakh crore (over $17 billion) to establish India's largest data center cluster in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This ambitious project, which includes a significant captive solar battery storage system, received approval from the Andhra Pradesh Investment Promotion Committee.
A Giga-Scale AI Data Center Hub
The proposed data center complex is designed to achieve a massive 1.5-gigawatt capacity, positioning it to surpass Google's 1-gigawatt project in the same region. Reliance intends to develop this giga-scale artificial intelligence (AI) data center cluster in three distinct phases, primarily located near Visakhapatnam’s new airport at Bhogapuram.
For this extensive development, Reliance has requested a total of 935 acres of land. This includes 300 acres for the initial phase and an additional 635 acres for the second phase. Furthermore, the company has sought 1 acre for a crucial cable landing station and 80 acres for a desalination plant, underscoring the project's self-sustaining infrastructure needs.
Phased Development and Operational Timeline
The first phase of the project involves setting up a 500 MW data center at Polipalli village. Commercial production from this initial facility is anticipated to commence by October 2028. Following this, the second phase will see the development of an additional 1 GW of capacity, distributed across Bhogapuram East and West, with completion targeted by 2030.
The overall investment breakdown includes approximately ₹1.08 lakh crore allocated for the data center cluster itself, with a further ₹51,300 crore dedicated to a linked renewable energy project. This renewable energy component will feature a solar project with a total direct current panel capacity of 9,000 MW-peak, capable of generating a maximum of 6,600 MW of alternating current.
Andhra Pradesh: A Growing Data Center Destination
Visakhapatnam is rapidly emerging as a preferred destination for significant data center investments, attracting major players like Google, Sify, Digital Connexion, and Anant Raj Cloud. This surge in interest is partly driven by Andhra Pradesh’s proactive Data Centre Policy 4.0.
Under this policy, the state offers attractive incentives for large-scale projects, including 100 percent reimbursement of state GST on capital goods, a 10 percent capital subsidy on machinery, and deemed distribution licenses for direct energy procurement for projects with capacities exceeding 300 MW. The state's IT minister, Nara Lokesh, previously stated a target of achieving a hosting capacity of 6 GW, indicating strong governmental support for the sector's growth.