Mangaluru is poised for a significant leap forward in the digital realm. The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), through its visionary document for the Mangaluru Cluster (encompassing Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and Kodagu districts), emphasizes that robust undersea cable connectivity is absolutely vital to establishing Mangaluru as a leading global data center hub.
The document highlights that direct landing stations and strategically planned subsea cable routes will deliver low-latency, high-capacity international bandwidth. This connectivity is key to making Mangaluru fiercely competitive on the global stage, attracting major hyperscalers, sophisticated cloud providers, and cutting-edge AI-driven enterprises.
Crucial Undersea Cable Routes Proposed
KDEM’s vision outlines three primary cable route options:
The first, the Middle East and Europe route, envisions a path from Oman/UAE directly to Mangaluru, then onward to Chennai/Singapore. This would create a direct, low-latency connection from West Asia and Europe, effectively bypassing the often-congested Mumbai landing stations.
The second, the Southeast Asia extension route, proposes a connection from Singapore to Colombo, then to Mangaluru, and further to the Middle East/Africa. This strategic route would offer a crucial ‘Bengaluru+1’ backup solution for hyperscalers, efficiently routing traffic across Southeast Asia.
Finally, a regional loop connecting Kochi and Chennai via a combination of terrestrial and subsea links is also detailed, ensuring diversified and resilient connectivity.
Mangaluru: A Strategic Complement to Bengaluru
Under its ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ initiative, KDEM is actively working to position Mangaluru as a strategic hub specifically for next-generation AI data centers. By leveraging its inherent coastal advantages, rapidly developing digital infrastructure, burgeoning renewable energy ecosystem, and skilled talent pool, Mangaluru is set to serve as a powerful complement to Bengaluru. It will function as a ‘Bengaluru+1’ location, offering a resilient backup site for numerous global capability centers (GCCs).
Projecting Significant Job Creation
The establishment of this innovative Mangaluru data center hub is anticipated to create over 25,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities across a wide array of sectors. This substantial job growth, highlighted in the document released by Priyank Kharge, Minister for Electronics, Information Technology, Bio-technology, on September 24, 2025, includes:
- Construction & Infrastructure: Approximately 8,000 jobs in civil works, electrical, cooling systems, and logistics.
- IT/BT & Cloud Services: Around 7,000 positions in data center operations, AI infrastructure management, and cloud engineering.
- Operations & Maintenance: Roughly 5,000 jobs dedicated to facilities management, power systems, and security.
- Renewable Energy & Utilities: About 3,000 jobs in green power projects, grid integration, and advanced cooling solutions.
- Ancillary & Allied Industries: An additional 2,000 jobs in supporting sectors like transport, food services, and various Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the data center ecosystem.
Envisioning a Giga-Scale Data Center Cluster
The 54-page vision document further reveals plans for Mangaluru to evolve into a giga-scale data center cluster, projecting a capacity exceeding 1 GW over the next decade. This ambitious growth will be supported by a ‘Grid-to-Chip’ strategy, ensuring seamless integration of renewable energy sources (wind, solar, and hydro) with cutting-edge cooling technologies, high-density compute capabilities, and chip-level optimization specifically designed for demanding AI and cloud workloads.