Visakhapatnam Set to Become ‘AP’s Hyderabad’
Even before the bifurcation of the state, Visakhapatnam had a unique trait — the ability to easily connect with people from other regions. During the united Andhra Pradesh era too, after Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam was the only city with this special quality. There are many reasons behind it — the presence of the port, the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, and various industries ensured that people coming from any state or region never faced major difficulties settling there. Though it’s hard to predict whether it will happen in the next five or ten years, officials believe that if there is any city in Andhra Pradesh that has the potential to develop like Hyderabad, it is only Visakhapatnam. For various reasons, the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh has now started giving special attention to Visakhapatnam. Most of the new investment proposals coming to the state are landing in and around the Visakhapatnam region.
Adding to this, the Bhogapuram Greenfield Airport is set to become operational next year. This airport will play a crucial role in improving air connectivity — a key factor for rapid regional development. A significant agreement related to Visakhapatnam was signed on Tuesday in the national capital, New Delhi. A leading IT giant signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a one-gigawatt hyperscale data center in Visakhapatnam. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Minister Nara Lokesh, and Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Ashwini Vaishnaw attended the event. This deal is expected to be a major step toward transforming Visakhapatnam into India’s “AI City.” As part of this project, Google will invest a total of 15 billion USD. Prominent Indian companies Adani and Bharti Airtel are also partners in this project. Following Google’s agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government, both these companies officially confirmed their participation.
It’s already known that India’s No.1 IT company, TCS, has acquired land from the government to establish its campus in Visakhapatnam. Cognizant is also planning to set up its own campus there. Officials say that in the coming days, several other major companies are likely to establish data center projects in Visakhapatnam. Moreover, the state government aims to attract large-scale investments through the upcoming Partnership Summit in November. While the Andhra Pradesh government is speeding up the completion of the Amaravati capital project, industrial and especially IT and financial services focus is clearly shifting toward Visakhapatnam. Officials are confident that in the coming years, Visakhapatnam will undoubtedly emerge as the “Hyderabad of Andhra Pradesh.” They believe the city already has all the necessary factors and advantages for such transformation.
