The Next AI Capital? RIL, Meta Unveil Ambitious AI Data Centre Plan for Gujarat's Jamnagar

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Meta Platforms have announced a sweeping partnership to build India's first built-to-suit AI-enabled data centre , a 168-megawatt facility to be constructed in Jamnagar, Gujarat , and delivered within two years, with a contractual option to scale further. Meta will lease capacity from the facility, marking a significant milestone in the company's global infrastructure expansion and deepening a long-standing strategic partnership with Reliance that spans connectivity, commerce, and AI innovation.

The project is being positioned as a landmark in India's ambition to become a global hub for AI infrastructure. Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was proud to be working with Reliance to build its first AI-enabled data centre in India, calling the world-class facility in Jamnagar a way to scale its AI infrastructure globally while deepening its long-term investment in India's economy. RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani described it as a "transformative moment", adding that Jamnagar would "become a landmark destination for hyperscale AI computing."

Under the agreement, RIL will provide end-to-end services including design, construction, management of utilities, renewable power supply, network connectivity, and fully managed operations, effectively making it a single-window solutions provider for hyperscale AI infrastructure in India.

The data centre will operate entirely on renewable energy and will be cooled using desalinated seawater, with the company noting it will not draw on local freshwater resources. The choice of desalinated seawater for cooling is significant, as most large-scale facilities globally rely on municipal water or underground aquifers. The move signals both the scale of the enterprise and a strong commitment to sustainability.

Meta is also partnering with leading clean energy providers to support its operations in India. The company has backed 837 MW of new solar and wind projects across Rajasthan and Karnataka, while an additional 88 MW of renewable energy projects will be developed across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. Together, these investments represent nearly 1 GW of renewable energy capacity in India.

Meta said the renewable energy investments, combined with Reliance's efforts to power the Jamnagar facility with clean energy, support its global goal of matching all operations with 100 percent renewable and clean energy while reducing emissions across its value chain.

The strategic location in Gujarat offers significant advantages for large-scale data centre operations, including access to renewable energy and water resources, proximity to India's western submarine cable landing stations, and connectivity through Jio's extensive fibre network.

The facility will also benefit from Meta's broader global connectivity initiative, Project Waterworth , described as the world's longest subsea cable project spanning more than 50,000 kilometres across five continents . The project will connect the Jamnagar campus directly to global internet infrastructure, strengthening its role in international data and AI operations.

The deal represents the third major chapter in a relationship that has deepened steadily since 2020 , when Meta made a landmark $5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms . In August 2025 , the two companies announced a joint venture to deploy Meta's open-source Llama AI models for Indian enterprises across sectors such as sales, marketing, customer service, and finance.

The Jamnagar data centre now serves as the physical foundation of that partnership, with the facility set to support Meta's global infrastructure and AI computing requirements. The project also aligns with the Government of India's strategy of treating data centres as strategic national infrastructure and promoting long-term investments in AI and digital infrastructure.