Vizag gets ₹3,700 cr boost as Naidu lays foundation for Cognizant’s AI hub

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday laid the foundation stone for a new Cognizant IT campus along with eight other companies in Visakhapatnam, marking a combined investment of ₹3,700 crore and the creation of an estimated 41,700 jobs.

According to an official release, Cognizant will invest ₹1,583 crore to establish a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation campus at Kapuluppada IT Hills. Spread over 21 acres, the project will be executed in three phases and is expected to generate employment for 8,000 people.

Until the first phase becomes operational, Cognizant will function from a temporary facility at the Mahati Fintech Building in Rushikonda IT Park, inaugurated earlier in the day by IT Minister Nara Lokesh. The interim campus will initially accommodate 1,000 employees focusing on AI, machine learning, digital engineering and cloud solutions.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation for projects by Tech Thammina, Satva Developers and Imaginnovate Tech Solutions India, among others. Addressing Cognizant employees and executives, Naidu urged the US$34-billion IT major to scale up aggressively and transform Visakhapatnam into its largest India centre within the next four to five years.

“Not just 5,000 or 10,000. You should begin with 25,000 and grow to 50,000 and one lakh employees,” Naidu said, asserting that the city offers abundant talent and nearly 20 per cent lower living costs compared to major metros.

Highlighting Visakhapatnam’s rapid expansion as an IT hub, the Chief Minister pointed out that Google is already setting up a US$15-billion data centre in the city. He reiterated his commitment to making Vizag the world’s most liveable and pollution-free city, projecting that it will grow into a US$130-billion economic region by 2032.

Naidu said the state’s policy of offering land at ₹0.99 per acre has been a “game-changer” for attracting investments, recalling a similar approach used for Tata Motors’ Nano plant in Gujarat. He added that Andhra Pradesh is positioning itself as a future knowledge-economy hub and will soon host a dedicated “Quantum Valley.”

The Chief Minister noted that Cognizant is exploring India as a destination for its public issue and praised the company for commencing operations within 11 months of its proposal.

Claiming that Andhra Pradesh has secured investment commitments worth ₹20 lakh crore with the potential to generate 23 lakh jobs over the past 18 months, Naidu expressed confidence that India will emerge as the world’s leading nation by 2047. He described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “right leader at the right time” and said the state is aiming for a sustained 15 per cent growth rate.