Andhra Pradesh has added another feather in its cap with multinational confectionary major Cadbury India announcing plans to set up its largest manufacturing facility in the Asia-Pacific region at the Sri City SEZ.
To be set up on a sprawling 134-acre campus, the proposed plant will be developed in four phases. The first phase of the plant, involving an estimated Rs. 1,000 crore, will be functional by mid-2015 and the remainder by 2020. It will have an annual capacity of 2.5 lakh tonnes.
Cadbury India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Government in the presence of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Major Industries Minister J. Geeta Reddy here on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister said the plant would indirectly help over four lakh farmers in Chittoor district, with the company planning to procure five lakh litres of milk a day, in addition to huge quantities of sugar for manufacturing the products. He said the State continued to be the most favoured investment destination, with auto majors like Isuzu setting up facilities here. Mahindra & Mahindra had set up its plant at Zaheerabad in Medak district, while Lockheed Martin’s unit for manufacturing aerospace components was coming up at the aerospace SEZ.
“We don’t need certificates from institutions like Harvard Business School. The industry itself is certifying the State as the best destination,” Mr. Reddy said.
Dr. Geeta Reddy said major industries continued to come to the State regardless of the atmosphere outside, sustaining the State’s position as the second-best destination for investments for the third successive year. Efforts had been initiated to make the State an automobile hub, while major industries in other sectors including global FMCG majors like P&G and Johnson & Johnson firmed up plans to set up their units.
Cadbury India managing director Manu Anand said the total investment at the Sri City facility was yet to be finalised. The plant would provide 1,600 jobs directly and the company planned to source the raw material required including sugar, milk and other ingredients locally.
Industries Secretary Pradeep Chandra said with major players evincing interest in setting up their facilities, the focus was essentially on ensuring that ancillary industry, the downstream value chain was entirely located in the State.
