Micromax, Celkon and Karbonn to set up mobile manufacturing hub in Andhra Pradesh

Micromax, Karbonn and Celkon have signed up with Andhra Pradesh to set up their manufacturing facilities near Tirupati in Chittoor district of the State.

The move by these three cellular companies is also expected to spur the growth of electronics, supplier base and related services.Together, these three companies are expected to invest about Rs. 750 crore with each unit being classified as a major industry attracting various rebates under the State policies and also concessions of VAT, registration and stamp duty.

The decision of these companies comes as a major boost after the global contract manufacturing major Foxconn set up a facility in Sri City multi-product economic zone close by for manufacture of mobile phones for Xiaomi, Asus, Oppo among others.

Karthikeya Mishra, Director Industries told Business Line that the location is seen to be advantageous with port and airport connectivity.

They have been allotted 60 acres of land by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.

“Significantly, a number of other manufacturers to support mobile phone making would also come up here. These could be lens, cover, speaker, microphone suppliers,” Y Guru, CMD of Celkon, said.

Rajesh Agarwal, Co-Founder, Micromax, said, “They are looking at manufacture of mobile phones, LED panels, tabs and other electronic devices from the proposed facility.”

The site provides great locational advantage being close to Krishnapatnam and Chennai ports and Tirupati and Chennai airports, he said.

According to Government estimates, each of this unit could employ about 2000 people.The Industries Department is seeking to woo other manufacturing companies–Intex and Lava to the hub.

According to Naidu, this will be a huge boost to electronics manufacturing in Andhra Pradesh.
“We recently had Xiaomi’s entry into Andhra Pradesh, now we will have Micromax, Celkon and Karboon Mobiles. I’m confident that these companies will create an electronics manufacturing ecosystem in the state,” he said, adding that more companies means more jobs.

With the new Tirupati terminal to be inaugurated shortly, the old terminal would be made use for cargo facility. The cellular companies are also looking at warehouse facility in the hub for the region.