Nara Lokesh Courts Airbus With Andhra Pitch: Land, Corridors, Vendor Ecosystem On Offer

Andhra Pradesh's IT Minister Nara Lokesh pitched the state to Airbus as a prime location for aerospace manufacturing under "Make in India."

Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh during a high-level meeting in New Delhi with the Board of Airbus.

Source : Special Arrangement

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Andhra Pradesh’s IT, Electronics and HRD Minister, Nara Lokesh, held a high-level meeting in New Delhi with the Board of Airbus, led by Chairman René Obermann along with the company’s President and Managing Director for India & South Asia. This marked the first occasion that the Airbus board convened in India, where it is evaluating possibilities under the ‘Make in India’ initiative and advancing localisation.

During the engagement, Lokesh put forward Andhra Pradesh’s vision to host a state-of-the-art aerospace manufacturing facility anchored by Airbus. He emphasised that the state could accommodate Tier-1 and Tier-2 vendors within the ecosystem, ensuring an integrated supply chain and supporting end-to-end production.

The Andhra government presented its ready-to-allot land parcels and highlighted a forward-looking aerospace policy aimed at enabling quick project rollout, technology transfer, and global-quality production. The state projected itself as a potential export-driven aerospace hub, offering investor-friendly clearances and smooth facilitation.

Officials proposed an integrated cluster model, encouraging Airbus to co-locate suppliers, MSMEs, and partners alongside the main facility. According to the state’s presentation, this would reduce risks, enhance localisation, and enable cost-efficient operations.

Andhra Pradesh also highlighted the availability of multiple aerospace corridors being developed in the state, providing Airbus with options suited to logistics, vendor clustering, and future expansion requirements.

Nara Lokesh underscores investor-first approach

Lokesh travelled from Amaravati for the meeting and underlined Andhra Pradesh’s emphasis on “speed of doing business” through quick approvals, time-bound execution, and single-window facilitation. He also invoked the track record of former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, referring to his role in attracting global-scale projects to the state.

“Airbus represents the gold standard in global aerospace, and Andhra Pradesh is prepared to deliver a competitive home for complex manufacturing with full ecosystem support,” said Minister Nara Lokesh. “With ready land, a progressive policy, and corridor flexibility, we can localise, innovate, and scale for global programs from Andhra Pradesh.”

Key highlights of Andhra Pradesh’s offer include industrial-ready land with plug-and-play facilities for Airbus and vendors; progressive aerospace policy with targeted incentives and MSME integration; multiple corridor options linked to airports, ports, and logistics channels; single-window investor support ensuring time-bound approvals; and an industry-ready talent pool, backed by skilling initiatives with top institutions.

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