AdaniConneX’s planned data centres in Visakhapatnam, developed in partnership with Google, will use air-cooling technology to reduce freshwater consumption, with the combined requirement across three sites expected to remain below the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
The proposed facilities form part of a roughly 1-gigawatt data centre development as Andhra Pradesh seeks to establish Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag, as a major hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and digital infrastructure.
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Air Cooling to Reduce Water Consumption at Vizag Data Centres
Unlike conventional data centres that use water-based evaporative cooling systems and cooling towers, the planned AdaniConneX Google data centres will rely on air-based cooling to avoid the large volumes of water these systems typically require.
Around 80% of the limited freshwater needed across the three sites will be used for landscaping, kitchens and worker facilities. According to sources cited in the report, the campuses will recycle and reuse water.
The facilities will further receive water through dedicated industrial connections rather than municipal supply lines. The aim is to prevent competition with households for drinking water.
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Wastewater Reuse Plan Targets Reservoir Protection
The project will follow a zero-discharge policy for domestic wastewater. An on-site sewage treatment plant will treat the wastewater for reuse in landscape irrigation and toilet flushing. No treated wastewater is expected to be discharged into the Mudasarlova Reservoir.
The measures aim to limit the project’s impact on local water resources, including the reservoir that supplies drinking water to the city & the adjoining Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary.
Environmental activists have questioned the project’s proximity to these sensitive areas and raised concerns about environmental assessments and disclosure of operational water requirements. The state government has defended the development, with IT Minister Nara Lokesh dismissing claims about its resource needs as misinformation.
Andhra Pradesh’s Data Centre Push Faces Water Scrutiny
The state government has said the proposed data centre ecosystem could require around 3 TMC of water annually if expanded to 6.5 gigawatts. Google has said it plans to use advanced air-cooling technology.
Other companies are also investing in the region’s digital infrastructure. Reliance Industries is developing a data centre campus near Bhogapuram and Polipalli, while Bharti Airtel is investing in terrestrial and metropolitan fibre networks and undersea cable landing infrastructure at Rambilli.
AdaniConneX, a joint venture between Adani Enterprises and US-based EdgeConneX, is building a nationwide network of large-scale data centres to serve rising demand for cloud computing, AI and digital services.
For Vizag’s AI ambitions, the next test will be whether large-scale computing capacity can expand while keeping pressure on local water resources in check. The proposed air-cooling systems, industrial water connections and wastewater reuse measures put water management at the centre of the project’s environmental commitments.
Samarjit Kaur is a journalist and communications professional covering technology & emerging digital trends. With a focus on clarity and context, she reports on developments shaping industries and governance. When not reporting, she chooses to plug-in and relax on her playlists and plan her next bucket-list trips!
