Bengaluru-based Sarla Aviation has signed a major agreement with the AP Government, to build what it calls the world’s largest “Sky Factory” for electric aircraft in Anantapur district. The company will invest ₹1,300 crore to set up a 500-acre giga campus that will manufacture electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft and support future air‑taxi services.
The project was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh Airport Development Corporation Ltd at the CII Partnership Summit held recently. In the first phase, around 150 acres will be developed at Thimmasamduram village in Kalyanadurg mandal, with an investment of about ₹330 crore for manufacturing and testing facilities, research labs and a 2‑km runway. For the same purpose.
Once fully operational, the Sky Factory is expected to become India’s first fully integrated eVTOL hub, with the capacity to produce up to 1,000 aircraft a year, placing it among the largest such facilities globally. The campus will include advanced production lines for key aircraft parts, India’s largest wind tunnel, pilot training centres and maintenance units, allowing the entire lifecycle of eVTOL aircraft, from design, testing, certification and servicing, to happen within the state.
This project is being projected as a big step towards becoming a centre for advanced manufacturing and green mobility. The state government has also announced plans to introduce drone taxis within the next two years, using technologies that will be developed at this facility.
Sarla Aviation, founded in 2023 by experts from the global eVTOL industry, is designing a six‑seater electric flying taxi aimed at cutting travel time in crowded Indian cities, with commercial operations targeted around the end of this decade. If the Sky Factory progresses as planned, it could create thousands of skilled jobs and help position both Andhra Pradesh and India as important players in the emerging market for clean, urban air transport.
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