Andhra Pradesh to Build Space City, Defence Hubs in Tirupati

• Skyroot to invest ₹400 cr in a 300-acre rocket manufacturing hub
• KSSL Hub, ₹1,430 cr defence energetics complex in Madakasira
• HFCL Hub, 1,186 cr artillery and ammunition plant near Bengaluru

The state of Andhra Pradesh is poised to create a space city in Tirupati along with two large defence manufacturing hubs in Madakasira, that would combine with nearly ₹3,000 crore investment. This indicates the state has the vision to place itself in the forefront of aerospace and defence manufacturing in India.

The government has given the contract for developing the space city to Skyroot Aerospace an eight-year old sponsor of former ISRO scientists. Skyroot is known to design cost effective launch vehicles for a set of small satellites. Skyroot will be investing ₹400 crore in developing the space facility on approximately 300 acres of land in Routhusuramala, BS Puram and Kottapalem villages.

The space city was sanctioned by the State Investment Promotion Board on August 28 and subsequently was approved by the cabinet on September 6. The plans for the space city include an integrated unit for a rocket manufacturing, assembly, testing, and storage.

Tirupati was selected because of the close proximity to Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, which made it a suitable location for the rocket facility. The Aerospace and Defence Policy of the state was released back in June and this will be the first space city.

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Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has set a goal of attracting investments in the order of ₹50,000 crore - ₹1 lakh crore over the next 5 years more than making Andhra a national defence and aerospace hub.

In line with this vision, the state has also approved two significant defence projects in Madakasira, Anantapur district, about two hours from Bengaluru. Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd (KSSL), a subsidiary of Bharat Forge, is building a Defence Energetics Manufacturing Complex with an investment of ₹1,430 crore on 1,000 acres, including high explosives and ammunition plants, a gun propellant unit, and space to extend operations into missile and rocket energetics in the future.

The second project is an artillery and ammunition complex, along with HFCL Ltd., worth ₹1,186 crore, also on 1,000 acres, that will manufacture artillery shells, TNT filling and hand grenades. Both hubs, with production facilities next to one another, sit outside Bengaluru’s established defence ecosystem and will help drive India’s self-reliance in aerospace and defence possibilities.