Vizag is poised to turn into an AI hub, says BJP Andhra Pradesh chief Madhav

Visakhapatnam will emerge as an AI hub in Southeast Asia under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to BJP State president P.V.N. Madhav.

“What IT has done to Hyderabad in 30 years, AI will do it for Visakhapatnam now,” Mr. Madhav said here on Tuesday.

The facility would attract huge investments, creating employment and shaping India’s digital future, he observed.

“The Prime Minister has been according special focus to Andhra Pradesh by allocating mammoth projects, with the latest being the Google Data Centre and AI Hub with an investment of ₹1.33 lakh crore,” he said.

Mr. Madhav said the Google project was the largest FDI in the country. An undersea cable network would connect 12 countries across Southeast Asia. The project would firmly place Visakhapatnam on the world map.

He made a PowerPoint presentation of the Centre’s efforts to bring Google to Visakhapatnam, in the presence of the representatives of IT entrepreneurs and media.

While explaining the efforts of the Centre to bring Google to Visakhapatnam, Mr. Madhav said the Centre had taken major steps to strengthen the AI ​​ecosystem. The India AI Mission, which was approved in March 2024 with an initial budget of ₹10,371 crore, got a major boost in September 2025 with the doubling of funds to ₹20,000 crore.

Both Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai and Mr. Modi met and discussed about the project recently in New Delhi, and finally made an official announcement earlier this month, he said.

“The Prime Minister reiterated that India should transform from AI consumers to AI creators. Therefore, he is taking steps towards AI creation as part of his commitment to Atmanirbhar Bharat. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is also supporting Mr. Modi’s vision,” Mr. Madhav said.

Later, addressing the media, Mr. Madhav said the Modi government was giving a strong boost to the growth of Andhra Pradesh by providing several first-of-its-kind projects to the State, which was making it a national and global investment destination.

Referring to some of the projects, he said that NTPC’s green hydrogen energy project in Visakhapatnam with an investment of ₹1.8 lakh crore was the first green energy project in the country. Secondly, South India’s first semiconductor manufacturing facility was also coming up in Andhra Pradesh. BPCL was setting up a mega oil refinery in Nellore with an investment of ₹84,000 crore, he added.

“Now, the Google project is going to be a game changer, putting Visakhapatnam on the global technology map,” Mr. Madhav said.

He said YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy did not responded to the Google project so far, and this indicated that they were not interested in welcoming such a great facility. He also criticised the IT Minister of Karnataka for commenting on the Google project.