Adani Arm Wins Nod For ₹1.04 Lakh Crore Odisha Data Park

Synopsis

The High-Level Clearance Authority of Odisha has given its approval for a ₹1.04 lakh crore, 1-gigawatt data centre park proposed by High Density Data Centre Ltd, a subsidiary of the Adani Group at Naraj in Cuttack. The approval catapults Odisha to the top of the list for digital infrastructure investments powered by AI in India.

The Clearance

The High Level Clearance Authority (HLC) headed by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has approved High Density Data Centre Ltd, a unit of the Adani Group, to invest ₹1.04 lakh crore in a 1 gigawatt data centre park in Odisha.

The project is one of the biggest investments proposed for the booming data centre sector which is seeing an increasing demand for computing power due to the use of artificial intelligence.

The Odisha government had given its approval to the proposal by the Adani subsidiary as the group strengthens its foothold in the booming data-centre segment in the country. The proposed project worth ₹1.04 trillion has been suggested as a standalone initiative.

Where and How Big

The Odisha government has earmarked about 250 acres at Naraj for the facility. The proposed investment is marginally lower than that of ₹1.08 lakh crore, which was announced by Reliance Industries to invest in the data centre project in Andhra Pradesh with an AI data centre and cable landing station.

Part of a Wider State Push

This Adani clearance came alongside three other clearances granted at the same time. The Odisha government has also given its approval for three more data centre and AI related projects worth total investment of ₹38,391 crore, making the total amount of investment in four projects to exceed ₹1.42 lakh crore.

They cover HCLTech's ₹14,257 crore AI-optimised data centre in Khordha, in partnership with Indian frontier-model company Sarvam AI, ₹22,634 crore AI data centre and global capability centre in Puri by Sentraforge AI and ₹1,500 crore data centre by RKD Construction in Kataka district.

Adani's Broader Data Centre Footprint

Adani's data centre unit, AdaniConneX, already has a data centre in Chennai, and plans to establish data centre projects in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. It is the latest Odisha clearance that comes on the back of an ambitious national plan.

The relocation follows Adani Group's vision to invest Rs 100 billion by 2035 in renewable energy based, hyperscale, AI ready data centres in India, part of which involves building large campuses in Visakhapatnam and Noida.With a plan to roll out up to 5 gigawatts of data centre capacity in India, the relocation is in line with the broader plans to build large campuses in Visakhapatnam and Noida.

A State Diversifying Its Investment Base

HCLTech will be allocated a separate land parcel in Infocity for its planned global development centre of ₹730 crore and a 140-acre area has been identified, which will be used for a data centre hub, said Dev, an official from the Odisha government.

The Adani offer is a feather in the cap of the state of Odisha, which has been a preferred destination for the metals, mineral and mining industry for many years.

AI and cloud computing are strategic areas, and the state is becoming a digital infrastructure destination due to its ready availability of land, power infrastructure, connectivity along the eastern coast and favourable policies.

Government Infrastructure in Parallel

The Reserve Bank of India's own data centre, which has been built on an investment of ₹169 crore, is close to completion, while the state government is building its own next-generation data centre, for which it has invested ₹266.48 crore.

What It Signals

The approvals in Odisha highlight the urgency in India's push to build a pool of AI-ready computing power, with conglomerates and IT majors bidding for land, power usage, and government subsidies in traditionally non-tech states.

The transition is an attempt to diversify Odisha's investment base, where the mining and metals sector has been the focus for years.