From Our Correspondent
Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh took a major leap into the future on Friday as Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal virtually laid the foundation stones for two of the state’s most ambitious projects — Drone City and Twin Space Cities — during the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam.
Calling it a “historic milestone”, the Chief Minister said the two projects would place Andhra Pradesh at the forefront of next-generation aerospace and unmanned systems. He urged the Centre to extend more support and stressed that the state aimed to scale rapidly, even introducing drone taxis in the near future. A dedicated Drone Traffic Control System will also be developed.
Naidu also announced that the Quantum Valley would be launched in January and reaffirmed his commitment to building Andhra Pradesh into a leading Green Hydrogen Valley.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal praised Naidu’s ability to foresee and seize future opportunities, recalling how Naidu bet on IT before it became mainstream. “Today, he is ahead once again — in drones, space, AI and quantum. The distinction of establishing the country’s first Drone City and first Twin Space Cities goes to Chandrababu Naidu,” Goyal said. He added that Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Naidu were working in close coordination for both state and national progress.
Drone City Coming Up in Orvakal
The state will establish India’s first Drone City across 300 acres in Orvakal, Kurnool district. It is designed to evolve into a global hub for drone design, manufacturing, services and R&D.
Key features include:
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Advanced manufacturing parks
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Testing and certification centres
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Training for 25,000 remote pilots
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Direct and indirect employment for over 40,000 people
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50 Centres of Excellence across Andhra Pradesh
The state is offering strong incentives, including 20% capital subsidy and 100% SGST reimbursement.
India’s First Twin Space Cities
For the first time in India, Twin Space Cities will be developed in Sri Sathya Sai and Tirupati districts. The goal is to boost private participation in the country’s growing space sector.
The cities will focus on:
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Satellite prototype development
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Space tech startup incubation
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Manufacturing of satellite subsystems
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Launch logistics support
The state expects ₹25,000 crore in investments and 35,000+ jobs over the next 10 years. Under the AP Space Policy 4.0, ₹100 crore has already been earmarked for a Space Tech Fund.
Together, the Drone City and Space Cities mark the beginning of a new era for India’s aerospace and space-tech ecosystem and are central to achieving the Swarna Andhra 2047 Vision.
MoUs Signed with Six Companies
In the presence of CM Naidu and Union Minister Goyal, the state signed MoUs with leading companies.
For Space Cities:
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Blue Space
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Aethernal Exploration Guild Pvt. Ltd.
For Drone City:
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Algobotix Pvt. Ltd.
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Akin Analytics Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
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SenselMage
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Airbase Industries
The state government said these partnerships would unlock large-scale opportunities in technology, innovation, skills and advanced manufacturing.
Union Ministers Ram Mohan Naidu and Srinivasa Varma, Chief Secretary Vijayanand, Ministers T.G. Bharat and B.C. Janardhan Reddy, and advisors Dr. Satheesh Reddy and S. Somanath were among those present.