Engineers review plans amidst data center construction as a container is lowered by crane.
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) is set to make a significant investment of approximately $17 billion (₹1.6 Lakh Cr) to develop a 1.5 GW data center cluster, complete with a captive solar battery storage system, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The ambitious project received approval from the Andhra Pradesh Investment Promotion Committee on April 25.
Sources indicate that RIL has requested 935 acres for the development, with an initial phase utilizing 300 acres to establish a 5000 MW data center at Poliapalli village, slated for operations by October 2028. The second phase, planned for completion by 2030 near Visakhapatnam airport, will add a 1 GW capacity at Bhogapuram East and West. The company has also requested additional land for a cable landing station and a desalination plant.
The investment will be split, with ₹1.08 Lakh Cr allocated to the data center cluster and the remaining ₹51,300 crore dedicated to the renewable energy project. The solar facility is projected to have a peak direct current panel capacity of 9,000 MW, capable of generating up to 6,000 MW of alternating current.
This move by RIL follows previous announcements, including a commitment made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in November last year regarding a 1 GW data center in Visakhapatnam. Furthermore, Digital Connexion, a joint venture involving Brookfield Asset Management, RIL, and Digital Realty, has previously committed to investing around $11 billion by 2030 in Andhra Pradesh for a 1 GW AI-native data center campus.
The planned RIL project represents the largest data center investment in India to date. It surpasses other significant projects in the region, including Google’s announced $15 billion investment for a gigawatt-scale data center, a 500 MW facility by Sify, and a 300 MW center by Anant Raj Cloud. MoUs have also been signed with RMZ and Tillman Global Holdings for additional data center capacities.
This development underscores Andhra Pradesh’s growing prominence as a hub for data center investments, with ambitions to host a total of 6 GW capacity. RIL is also pursuing a 1 GW AI-ready data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat, as part of its broader commitment to invest ₹10 Lakh Cr in India’s AI infrastructure over the next seven years, as announced by CMD Mukesh Ambani.
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