Andhra CM, Kiran Reddy lays foundation stone for Bharat Dynamics’ facility near Hyderabad

State-run Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) is planning investments of Rs 30,000 crore in its greenfield production facility near Ibrahimpatnam in Andhra Pradesh to manufacture surface-to-air missiles.

BDL has booked 500 acres of land at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation's (MIDC) estate at Amravati, to produce air defence missiles to cope with its high order book position.

BDL already bagged a Rs14,000 crore order to produce Akash surface-to-air missiles for the Indian Army, and this huge order, coupled with a smaller sized order for the same missile from the Indian Air Force is one of the main reasons for the company seeking to establish new manufacturing facilities.

The proposed manufacturing centre at Andhra Pradesh is expected to create employment for over 700 directly and over 2,000 indirectly. The facility would be operational in four years.

Minister of state for defence, M M Pallam Raju, along with chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, laid the foundation stone for the upcoming facility in Hyderabad yesterday.

According to Raju, the government would tie up with two foreign countries and once that was done, production would start. He added, it would not only spur ancillary industries, but also create employment for local people.