Carrier’s Entry into AP: What It Means for Employment?

Andhra Pradesh under NDA government is setting an example to other states on how to attract major investments by redefining ‘Ease of Doing Business’ as Speed of Doing Business, thanks to the investor-friendly governance led by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and fast tracked execution of big projects by IT Minister Nara Lokesh. 

In what could be termed as another notable achievement that augurs well for the state as far as employment opportunities are concerned, Air coolers and Refrigerators manufacturing behemoth Carrier has signed a lease to set up a Rs 1,000-crore state-of-the-art air-conditioning manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh’s Sri City. This investment is expected to generate close to 3000 jobs once it becomes operational. 

State Minister Nara Lokesh hailed it as a powerful validation of Andhra Pradesh’s ‘Speed of Doing Business’ approach. He further said it took just eight months for the company to announce the deal after the first visit to land handover. He also exuded confidence that this 39-acre manufacturing facility at Sri City will create over 3,000 jobs and firmly position Andhra Pradesh as India’s leading air-conditioning manufacturing hub.

In July last year, both Chandrababu and Lokesh went to Singapore and pitched Andhra Pradesh as the innovative hub for investments in various sectors. During this visit, Lokesh met the delegation from Carrier Corporation and initiated talks for collaboration in sustainable infrastructure and cold chain logistics across the State.

Lokesh proactively offered the policies, incentives, and infrastructure available in Andhra Pradesh and welcomed Carrier to explore opportunities here by establishing a plant very soon. Cut to now, the company has sealed the deal in just 8 months and announced that it going to set up a manufacturing unit in the state. 

Sri City boasts investments to the tune of ₹12,000 crore from 10 major AC manufacturers, creating 25,000 jobs. Similarly, 32 vendors together have invested ₹4,600 crore so far, creating 13,000 jobs in the region.

Already, leading AC companies like LG and Daikin, Blue Star Climatech, Havells India, Amber Enterprises India, Epack Durable, PG Technoplast, Hisense, and Thermax have been manufacturing their equipment in Sri City. Now, Carrier is going to join the long list.