Aviation, Drone Firms Propose Rs 500 Crore Investment in AP

Vijayawada: Two private companies have proposed investments of nearly Rs 500 crore in Andhra Pradesh's aviation and drone sectors, AP Investments and Infrastructure Minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy said on Thursday.

The minister earlier discussed the proposals at separate meetings with representatives of KNOTS Aerospace, New Delhi, and GGF Astraa Analytica, Hyderabad, at the State Secretariat in Velagapudi of Amaravati.

Janardhan Reddy said the state's industry-friendly policies under the leadership of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu have created a favourable investment climate for sunrise sectors, including aviation and drone technology.

KNOTS Aerospace, led by Athiraj Singh Chawla, proposes to set up a Flight Training Organisation (FTO) at either Nagarjuna Sagar Airport or Kurnool Airport. The company proposes to invest around Rs 100 crore over the next five years. The project would generate nearly 100 direct jobs.

KNOTS Aerospace plans to commence operations with six training aircraft and expand the fleet to 20 aircraft within five years.

GGF Astraa Analytica proposes to establish a comprehensive drone ecosystem in the proposed Kurnool Drone City.

The company’s CEO and director Sai Prasad, Tech director Sai Vignan Reddy and Operations director T.S. Kiran said the project would involve an investment of about Rs 400 crore and require nearly 100 acres of land.

The company has expertise in drone research, assembly, manufacturing, testing, training, and incubation. It has collaborations with organisations in London and Singapore.

Further, GGF Astraa Analytica has expressed interest in deploying drone-based services during the 2027 Godavari Pushkaralu for CCTV surveillance, security monitoring, crowd management, and traffic regulation.

Welcoming the two proposals, Janardhan Reddy invited both the companies to submit detailed project reports. He assured them of the government's support in facilitating the projects.

The minister said trial runs of drone services proposed by GGF Astraa Analytica would be conducted in September. The government would take a decision based on the outcome of trial runs.