Dholera emerges as Gujarat's AI hub with a ₹7 lakh crore data centre plan
Seven to 12 data centres with around 7.5 GW of combined capacity are planned in Dholera, alongside two semiconductor fabs by Tata and Crystal Matrix. Together they could bring an estimated ₹7 lakh crore of investment and thousands of jobs.
Sep 05, 20264 min read
Photo: A data centre technician at work, representative. Nxtra (via Bhaskar English)
The Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2027 will be held in Gandhinagar from January 10 to 12. At its curtain-raiser in New Delhi, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel held discussions with global partners, and semiconductors and data centres emerged as the key focus areas. Dholera sits at the centre of both.
P. Bharti, Secretary of the Gujarat Government's Department of Science and Technology (DST), said: "Gujarat is expected to establish itself as a technology hub. Semiconductor and data centre projects could significantly transform the state's industrial and economic ecosystem."
Chip fabrication comes to Dholera
According to DST sources, six semiconductor plants are planned in Gujarat:
Sanand (3, operational): Micron, CG Semi and Kaynes. All three package wafers brought in from outside.
Surat (1): Suchi Semicon. It started with packaging and has now begun producing wafers and chips.
Dholera (2, under construction): one by Tata and one by Crystal Matrix.
Unlike the Sanand plants, the two Dholera facilities will have wafer fabrication capabilities. In simple terms, Sanand handles packaging while chip production will take place in Dholera.
The companies behind the six plants say around 50,000 jobs will be created once the projects are operational. These roles will range from packaging and entry-level work to technicians, diploma and degree holders, and engineers.
Data centres in Dholera
Between seven and 12 data centre facilities are expected in Dholera, with a combined planned capacity of around 7.5 GW. A single data centre there could have a capacity of 1 GW (1,000 MW), and each 1 GW facility is expected to need around 150–200 acres of land.
Timeline: work is expected to begin by the end of 2026, with the facilities completed within about two years of construction starting.
Interested companies: Adani, L&T, Reliance and Meta have shown interest in investing in data centre projects in Gujarat.
Investment: the companies will build their own supporting infrastructure, such as desalination plants, large power substations and UPS systems. That is expected to come to around ₹6 lakh crore. Hosting chips from companies such as NVIDIA could add another ₹1 lakh crore. If seven data centres are developed, total investment could reach around ₹7 lakh crore.
What the facilities need
Data centres need electrical redundancy at every level, with power from two independent sources so one can take over immediately if the other fails. They also need extensive cooling. Desalination plants may supply the water, which is then treated and recirculated rather than consumed. Modern facilities are increasingly moving towards a "Net Zero" model built on renewable energy and minimal water use.
Jobs beyond the server floor
Data centres will create demand for technical staff and for people with coding, server maintenance and data skills. The bigger employment impact may come from the ecosystem around them: construction, power, cooling, networking, security, maintenance and IT services.
The report says young people may no longer need to move to Bengaluru, Pune, other states or overseas for technology roles, and that companies such as Google and Amazon could expand their presence in Gujarat as the ecosystem grows.
Why Gujarat is making the bet
P. Bharti said: "India generates around 22% of the world's data but currently hosts only about 3% of it." More data centre capacity would let more Indian data be hosted in India and strengthen data security.
Competition is growing, particularly from Andhra Pradesh. There, Google is reportedly planning a 1 GW data centre in Visakhapatnam with an investment of around $15 billion, and Reliance is developing an AI-focused data centre in Vijayawada. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also recently announced that the company would lease Reliance's 168 MW data centre in Jamnagar.
Gujarat is the first state to introduce a dedicated Green AI Data Centre Policy. Several other states still assess data centre projects case by case rather than through a dedicated policy framework.
