Water shortage will not hinder data centres in Visakhapatnam, says Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu cited the Polavaram project and new technologies to address resource concerns.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Friday that water availability will not be a problem for establishing data centres in Visakhapatnam. Speaking at the 31st CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam, according to reports by Rediff and The Hindu, Naidu asserted that the state possesses the necessary resources and technology to meet these requirements.
The Chief Minister noted that while the proposed facilities would need approximately 3.5 TMC of water, the state could supply up to 100 TMC to Visakhapatnam annually via the Polavaram project. This multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari river is expected to be operational by March 2027.
To address high water consumption, Naidu mentioned desalination and new air-cooling technologies as alternatives. He also noted that water currently flowing into the sea could be utilised for productive use.
The remarks come as over 6 GW of hyperscale data centre capacity is being executed in the region. This includes a $15 billion, 1-GW artificial intelligence (AI) data centre by Google and a Rs 67,000 crore, 1-GW green data centre by ReNew Energy Global Plc in Anakapalli.
Naidu stated that these projects would create an ecosystem for the knowledge economy and data-driven decision-making. He added that renewables would provide a significant portion of the energy needed for these centres.