Sarla Aviation will set up a large-scale manufacturing hub for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Andhra Pradesh after signing an MoU with the state government at the CII Partnership Summit 2025 in Visakhapatnam. The Bengaluru-based firm has committed an initial investment of Rs 13 billion to develop a 500-acre integrated campus in Anantapur district. Branded the “Sky Factory”, the project is positioned as one of the world’s largest eVTOL production clusters and will support the state’s plans to expand local aerospace manufacturing and urban air-mobility infrastructure. The agreement was handed over by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in the presence of Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and state infrastructure minister BC Janardhan Reddy. In the first phase, Sarla Aviation will invest Rs 3.3 billion to build a 150-acre site in Thimmasamduram village, Kalyanadurg Mandal. The facility will include automated production lines, composite manufacturing centres, R&D laboratories and a two-kilometre runway for testing. Expansion across a further 350 acres is planned in the next phase. Once fully operational, the Sky Factory will be capable of producing up to 1,000 eVTOL aircraft a year. The integrated campus will house production of key systems including powertrains, landing gear, electrical harnesses and advanced composite structures. Plans also include VTOL testing pads, a pilot-training ecosystem and what the company says will become India’s largest wind-tunnel facility. Rakesh Gaonkar, co-founder and CTO of Sarla Aviation, said the project is designed to strengthen India’s expertise in next-generation aviation. He noted that the giga-facility will “shape the aircraft of the future” and create thousands of high-skill jobs, with the aim of designing, building, testing, flying and operating advanced eVTOL systems from a single integrated site. The Andhra Pradesh government, through the Airport Development Corporation, will serve as a strategic facilitator to expedite clearances and support ecosystem development. The project is expected to generate significant direct and indirect employment while increasing MSME participation in the aerospace supply chain.