MPs Seek Swift Approval For AP Defence Corridor

They hoped that these projects could transform the state into a major defence production hub.

The Narasaraopet MP, Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu and Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy submitted a memorandum listing the pending proposals. These, they averred, are vital for the state's industrial development and in boosting the nation’s defence capabilities.

They called for faster decisions on establishing an Air Force station at Donakonda, a UADNL (Utkarsha Aluminium Dhatu Nigam Ltd) aluminium alloy plant at Nellore, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)-related facilities and a proposed naval equipment and weapons testing facility near Visakhapatnam.

They also sought the development of aerospace and defence manufacturing hubs across Andhra Pradesh, including the establishment of a DRDO Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence at IIT Tirupati and the formulation of a common ammunition storage policy.

The MPs emphasized the need for sanctioning a defence industrial corridor in Andhra Pradesh that would connect manufacturing hubs across the state, promoting investments, employment opportunities, and indigenous defence production.

As the floor leader of the Telugu Desam parliamentary party in Lok Sabha, Devarayalu requested the minister's intervention “for early consideration and necessary approvals in these respects.