Google will change Vizag’s landscape like Microsoft transformed Hyderabad: Lokesh

Amaravati, Oct 15 (IANS) Google’s largest data centre will change the landscape of Visakhapatnam the way Microsoft's facility transformed Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh said on Wednesday. 

Noting that Google would invest a total of $15 billion in five years, Lokesh termed this the largest FDI in the country. This would generate employment for 1.88 lakh people, create Rs. 48,000 crore impact on the local economy in five years and have a 25 times multiplier effect.

Lokesh was addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, a day after Google signed the MoU with the state government in New Delhi.

He gave a detailed account of the efforts made by the state government to attract Google’s investment and claimed that the company, after evaluating various countries and various states within India, chose Andhra Pradesh for its speed of doing business.

He recalled that he held the first meeting with the Google team in September 2024 in Visakhapatnam and showed them the land for the data centre. This was followed by his meeting with Google Cloud leadership during his visit to the US. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met the Google delegation in November.

Lokesh said Google wanted amendments in certain laws at the state and Central levels, and clarity on certain issues. The Chief Minister discussed this with Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said that Visakhapatnam will attract not just data centres but also cable landing stations, renewable energy, and AI companies.

He claimed Andhra Pradesh was attracting massive investments due to the speed of doing business, in which the state ranks first.

With a cluster-based approach and vertical and horizontal integration, the government has set a target of developing Andhra Pradesh into a $2.4 trillion economy by 2047.

The Greater Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor alone will be developed into a $1 trillion economy. The state will have a total of three economic corridors, with two other corridors in Amaravati and Rayalaseema.

Lokesh also said that the focus of the government is not on announcements and MoUs but on execution.

He pointed out that no MoU was signed with Arcelor Mittal, but the foundation stone for India’s largest steel plant in Visakhapatnam will be laid in November.

He announced that the TCS will inaugurate their first office in Visakhapatnam in November. It will also lay the foundation stone for their large campus.

He hoped that Cognizant would also lay the foundation for its campus in Visakhapatnam in the same month. The company will inaugurate its office in December.

Lokesh revealed that he was personally monitoring the progress of each project. For all major projects, WhatsApp groups have been created with ministers and top officials concerned and the representatives of the respective companies.

The minister said the government was working with the objective of fulfilling its Super Six promise of 20 lakh jobs in five years. Five lakh jobs will be created in the IT sector alone.

Lokesh said while many states have double-engine governments, Andhra Pradesh has a double-engine bullet train government with Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Naidu working together.

Anantapur has been developed as a mobility valley with the KIA plant, north Anantapur and Kurnool are attracting major renewable energy, pump storage projects and cement factories, an electronics manufacturing eco-system is being created in Chittoor and Kadapa districts, and Nellore district already has a larger ecosystem in the form of Sri City.

He said to create a Space City, Skyroot Aerospace was allotted 300 acres of land for setting up a private satellite launch facility. Quantum Valley is being developed in Amaravati.

He claimed that Andhra Pradesh is manufacturing 50 per cent of the country’s air conditioners and hoped that with new investments planned by Daikin and Bluestar and new investment by LG, this share may go up to 80 per cent.

--IANS

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