Summary
- The proposed Visakhapatnam campus would occupy about 200 acres and target 1.25GW at full development.
- An initial phase could enter service from 2027, subject to power, approvals, financing, and construction.
- Colt and RMZ’s existing $1.7bn venture was previously centred on approximately 250MW in Mumbai and Chennai.
Colt Data Centre Services and Indian property developer RMZ are reportedly planning a 1.25GW data centre campus in Visakhapatnam, substantially increasing the scale of their existing Indian joint venture.
The proposed development would occupy approximately 200 acres at Jagannadhapuram in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The state’s Investment Promotion Committee approved the project during the final week of July, according to local reporting.
An initial phase could enter service from 2027. The reported timetable remains dependent on land completion, detailed approvals, grid and generation arrangements, construction, equipment supply, fibre connectivity, and customer commitments.
Colt and RMZ formed a $1.7bn joint venture in 2024. Its initial programme focused on expanding facilities in Navi Mumbai and Ambattur, Chennai, with approximately 250MW planned at full build-out.
The first two buildings at Colt’s Mumbai campus are operating with a combined 22MW. The proposed Vizag project would increase the joint venture’s stated pipeline by a multiple of its original programme.
RMZ signed a memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh government in June covering as much as $10bn of mixed-use, digital, industrial, and logistics investment over five to six years. The data centre proposal forms part of that broader development ambition.
A gigawatt proposal requires an energy programme
At 1.25GW, the campus would require more than a conventional property-development process. Its power requirement would be comparable with a large generation project and would need phased transmission, substations, backup systems, and long-term supply arrangements.
The full figure is therefore better understood as a potential build-out envelope than a single commissioning event. Large campuses are normally delivered building by building as customers commit to capacity and utility infrastructure becomes available.
A first phase in 2027 would give Colt and RMZ a short delivery window. Long-lead electrical equipment, cooling systems, structural components, and network infrastructure must be ordered and integrated well before a facility is ready for customer hardware.
Visakhapatnam has attracted several digital-infrastructure proposals. Google, AdaniConneX, Tata, Digital Connexion, and Sify have all been associated with development in or around the city.
That concentration can create an ecosystem of contractors, fibre providers, and skilled workers, but it also increases competition for power, land, water, and permits. Announced capacity across multiple projects can exceed the infrastructure available to serve them on the stated timetable.
Coastal locations offer access to subsea connectivity and routes towards other Asian markets. They also require careful assessment of flooding, storms, corrosion, water availability, and network diversity.
Colt’s involvement brings operating experience from Europe and Asia, while RMZ contributes local property-development capability and government relationships. The joint venture structure is intended to combine those strengths, but the step from 250MW to a proposed 1.25GW campus will require a larger capital and utility framework.
The project provides a comparator for European operators expanding into high-growth markets. International development can offer access to land and demand that are difficult to secure in constrained European hubs, but it introduces different grid, climate, regulatory, supply-chain, and currency risks.
The competitive advantage will not come from the announced gigawatt figure alone. Customers need confirmed delivery phases, service levels, network options, power quality, cooling specifications, and evidence that the site can expand without disrupting operating halls.
A 200-acre landholding can support a large masterplan, yet land is only the first permission slip. The campus must be converted into energised plots, completed buildings, and operational capacity.
The 2027 target will provide an early test of whether the partners can move from state-level approval to a delivered first phase. The longer-term 1.25GW ambition will depend on repeating that process across successive power and construction stages.
