VIJAYAWADA: The Adani Group is learnt to have agreed to come up with alternate proposals for setting up their Data Centre and Technology Park in the State on the advice of Industries and IT Minister Mekapati Gautham Reddy.
The group’s representatives met the minister at the Secretariat here Thursday apparently to press for the government’s green signal to proceed with the proposed data centre and tech park in Visakhapatnam. Sources told TNIE that despite the government’s earlier suggestion that it set up the Rs 70,000-crore mega project in a backward area, the group’s representatives did not put forward any such plans during their meeting with Gautham Reddy.
The Adani Group had inked an MoU with the State government for setting up the facility in the port city during TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s tenure in January this year. The project, to be backed up by renewable energy, was expected to create one lakh direct and indirect jobs. Comprising parks in 150 acres atop Kapuluppada hill and 350 acres in Nakkapalle mandal, the first phase of the project was to be completed in 18 months.
5 GW data centre parks proposed
The group proposed to set up three data centre parks with a capacity of 5 GW over two decades.
However, after the foundation was laid by Naidu, the project hasn’t moved an inch. Official sources said Gautham Reddy insisted that the Adani group rework its plans. “If you put forward proposals for land at an alternate location, and a fixed timeline for the project, besides specific proposals on your annual project plans, not what you are going to do in 20 years, the government will extend full cooperation,” the minister reportedly told the group’s representatives.
The sources told TNIE that the group’s representatives informed the minister that they were willing to sit and rework. “They said they wanted to send a team to renegotiate,” the sources said. The point of contention is the land location. The government, it is learnt, is not willing to allocate land and is also of the view that since Vizag is already developed, moving the project to a backward area would be ideal.