Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], April 28 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh IT, Electronics and Education Minister Nara Lokesh on Tuesday highlighted massive job creation prospects from the Google-backed AI hub project in Visakhapatnam, asserting that the state government's primary focus remains generating employment for youth.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the project's groundbreaking event, Lokesh said the initiative is part of a larger vision to develop a robust data and AI ecosystem in the state, with significant direct and indirect employment potential.

'Job creation is the single agenda with which the state government is working. We have promised to the youth that we'll create 20 lakh direct and indirect jobs. And that has been a single agenda with which we're working,' he said.

Emphasising the scale of the investment, the minister noted that the AI hub and associated ecosystem would generate substantial employment opportunities. 'This particular investment will create direct and indirect jobs of close to two lakhs, and that is the agenda with which we are now working,' Lokesh added.

He underlined that the project goes beyond a single data centre and aims to attract a wide network of companies, including vendors in power electronics, cooling systems and server manufacturing, thereby strengthening the local industrial base.

Lokesh also said the government is actively facilitating investments and ensuring projects are executed on schedule. 'For us, it's not merely about making announcements, it's actually about grounding these projects, executing these projects. So we have hand-held this project till now and we will continue to hand-hold this project through to the final phase,' he said

The minister reiterated that Visakhapatnam is being developed as a key economic growth engine, with a focus on IT, data infrastructure, pharma and manufacturing sectors, which together are expected to create large-scale job opportunities in the coming years.

Lokesh said the state government is currently tracking hundreds of projects to meet its ambitious employment target, with several expected to become operational over the next two years. (ANI)