AdaniConneX and Google Build 1 Gigawatt Data Center Hub
AdaniConneX and Google are developing 1 gigawatt data center campuses in Visakhapatnam using air-cooling technology to protect local water sources and wildlife sanctuaries.
AdaniConneX, in partnership with Google, is developing data center campuses in Visakhapatnam, India, with a planned capacity of approximately 1 gigawatt. The project is part of a broader effort by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to attract AI and digital infrastructure, alongside investments from Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel.
To mitigate environmental risks near the Mudasarlova Reservoir and Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, the facilities at Mudasarlova and Tarluvada will employ air-cooling technology rather than conventional water-based evaporative systems. This design aims to keep freshwater consumption across three sites below the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The developers have committed to a zero-discharge policy for domestic wastewater, on-site sewage treatment, and the use of dedicated industrial water connections to avoid competing with municipal drinking water supplies.
Environmental activists have questioned the adequacy of environmental assessments and the project's proximity to ecologically sensitive zones. IT Minister Nara Lokesh has dismissed these claims as misinformation, defending the project's resource requirements and its role in the state's digital growth.
