BENGALURU, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's ( GOOG )

Google will invest $10 billion to set up a massive data centre

and artificial intelligence hub in Andhra Pradesh, officials

from the southern Indian state said, marking its biggest such

investment in the South Asian nation.

Google will build a 1-gigawatt data centre campus in the

port city of Visakhapatnam, combining AI infrastructure,

large-scale energy sources, and an expanded fibre-optic network,

according to a statement from the state government.

A formal agreement is expected to be signed on Tuesday.

The move comes amid intensifying competition among big tech

companies, which are spending heavily on building new data

centre infrastructure to meet booming demand for AI services.

"In an era where data is the new oil, such initiatives will

serve as a strategic advantage," state IT minister Nara Lokesh

said.