Orvakal Industrial Smart City (Orvakal IMC / Kurnool Industrial City) — Overview

What Orvakal Industrial Smart City Is

Orvakal is a state-government-declared industrial node under the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Corridor Development Act, 2017, developed as part of India's National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP). The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Corridor Authority has accorded approval to declare Orvakal Node in Kurnool district under Hyderabad Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC) as an industrial node under the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Corridor Development Act, 2017. Officially it is called the Orvakal Industrial Area (OIA) or Orvakal Node; because Kurnool is the surrounding district, it is also commonly referred to as the Kurnool Industrial City.

The Orvakal Industrial Area (OIA), spread across 2,621 acres in Kurnool district, is envisioned as an integrated, self-sustaining industrial township that combines industrial, residential, commercial, and social infrastructure. Orvakal Node at Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh is being developed as a Mega Industrial Hub as part of Hyderabad Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC), which aims to integrate several manufacturing clusters in the region between Hyderabad and Bengaluru with requisite infrastructure backbone. This corridor also serves as a valuable linkage between two other major economic corridors in Southern India, namely, Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and Vishakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC).

Who Is Building It

The programme is run centrally by the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and its investment arm NICDIT, in partnership with the Andhra Pradesh government's industrial agency APIIC. Krishnapatnam Industrial City Development Limited expanded its mandate for inclusion of Orvakal Industrial Area under its ambit, and the existing SPV was subsequently renamed "AP Industrial Corridor Infrastructure Development Corporation" (APICDC). The SPV was formed in 2018 with equal equity of APIIC (GoAP) and NICDIT (GoI), with its mandate earlier limited to Krishnapatnam and expanded to Orvakal and Kopparthy through an SSA/SHA amendment dated 30 October 2024.

On the ground, a Programme Manager for New Cities (PMNC) was appointed, and construction of trunk infrastructure has been contracted out. A 1,292-acre land parcel has been transferred by the state government to the Project SPV and matching equity of Rs. 500 Crore has been released by NICDIT, while the EPC tender for trunk infrastructure works was floated by the SPV on 28th April 2025, with the letter of award issued to M/s GVPR Engineers Ltd on 9th October 2025 and the contract agreement executed on 30 October 2025. The kick-off meeting of the EPC contract was held on 24 December 2025.

Official Notified Area, Villages & Land Use

The formally notified footprint is larger than the first construction zone. The government decided to publish the Final Master Plan of Orvakal Node under HBIC with an extent of 9,718.84 acres. Within this, NICDIT's centrally funded programme is developing a smaller activation zone: a consultant for Detailed Master Planning and Preliminary Engineering for Orvakal Industrial covering 9,305 acres was appointed in January 2021, wherein GoAP proposed 4,742 acres of land to be developed under the NICDIT framework, out of which 2,621 acres is proposed to be developed as the Phase 1 Activation Area (2,346 acres already under possession of the State Government).

The core site sits across several villages of Orvakal mandal. The site is spread between Orvakal, Uppalapadu, Guttapadu, Meedivemula, and N. Konthalapadu villages of Orvakal mandal, Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh. The wider Mega Industrial Hub concept extends further: the proposed Mega Industrial Hub at Orvakal village in Kurnool district admeasures an area of approximately 9,800 acres spread across 11 villages and 8 distinct land parcels located off NH 40.

On land use, the final master plan reserves just over half the notified area for factories and industrial sheds. The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Corridor Authority approved the final master plan for the land use pattern, comprising 52 per cent of the land being utilised for industrial purposes. That industrial share itself rolls out in stages: under the first phase of industrial use in Orvakal Node, 1,424 acres will be utilised, followed by 3,594 acres in the second phase and 5,017 acres in the third phase. The balance land bank will be used for infrastructure related to transportation, residential, commercial, public, and semi-public areas, public utilities, roads, green areas, waterbodies, and others in almost an equal number of phases.

Why It Exists

Orvakal sits at a corridor crossroads that planners see as a strategic advantage. The proposed location comprises two economic corridors of the country, CBIC and VCIC, making it a strategic location for rapid industrial and infrastructure development. Conceding the significance of the Orvakal cluster, the Government of Andhra Pradesh initiated the "Orvakal Mega Industrial Hub" in Kurnool district as part of a broader push, under its "Vision 2029" aiming at attaining the status of a "Developed state" by 2029, with the industrial sector as a priority area.

Beyond the corridor logic, the district itself is a target for diversification: it has historically depended on mining, and the state is trying to widen its industrial base. Though Kurnool is known for mining granites and quarrying, the focus now is on bringing more investments to food processing, cement, industrial equipment and spare parts machinery, with the area having rich deposits of iron ore, dolomite, quartz, stealite and limestone. The node's own sector focus is deliberately broad: with an investment potential of about ₹12,000 crore, OIA will cater to diverse sectors including automobile components, renewable energy, aerospace and defence, electrical and electronics, textiles and apparel, pharmaceuticals, and gems and jewellery.

Current Status (as of mid-2026)

Orvakal has moved from planning into active construction over the past year. The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the Kopparthy Industrial Area and the Orvakal Industrial Area on 16 October 2025, accelerating industrial infrastructure development under NICDP. Environmental clearance for the first cluster is already in place: EC for the Phase 1 Guttapadu Cluster was granted by MoEF&CC on 11 November 2020, and an EC amendment was recommended by MoEF&CC in the EAC meeting held on 26 June 2024. Clearance work is also progressing for the next tranche of land: ToR for the Somayajulapalle and Komarolu land parcels (Phase 2), admeasuring 2,470 acres, was granted by MoEF&CC on 10 August 2024.

A flagship sub-project has been carved out inside the node. On 14 November 2025, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu virtually launched the country's first Drone City at Orvakal, expected to generate over 40,000 jobs, developed in close collaboration with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, with the 300-acre Drone City set to host the world's largest common drone testing facility. Drone City is spread across 300 acres within the larger 2,621-acre ecosystem near Kurnool Airport. The state government has inked a strategic partnership with Aerpace Industries to establish the project, and it will host advanced testing and certification labs, manufacturing parks, and training facilities capable of producing 25,000 certified remote pilots, with the state offering a 20 per cent capital subsidy, a 100 per cent SGST refund and support for 50 Centres of Excellence across AP.

Individual investor allotments are already being made on the ground. The Andhra Pradesh government has allotted 100 acres of land to Virupaksha Organics at Orvakal in Kurnool district for a new manufacturing facility, strengthening the state's pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals ecosystem. Andhra Pradesh's Minister for Industries has said the state is targeting nearly Rs 50,000 crore of investment for Orvakal, noting that Reliance had already established one of the world's second-largest plants in the area. Independent project trackers list the broader trunk-infrastructure contract as running from 30 October 2025 to 30 October 2028, with a total project cost of USD 350.31 million, currently at Notice to Proceed stage.

Headline Connectivity

Orvakal's core pitch is highway and air access right at the site boundary. The site is strategically located with access to NH40, NH44, and the Kurnool Bypass, ensuring robust road connectivity. A four-lane section of National Highway 40 (NH40), formerly NH18, passes through Orvakal, providing road connectivity to Kurnool, Nandyal, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Tirupati, and Chennai. For the wider corridor, NICDIT has considered NH 44 as the transportation backbone for HBIC.

Air access is unusually close for a node still under construction. Orvakal is home to the Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport, which began operations on 25 March 2021 and currently offers flights to Bengaluru, Chennai, and Visakhapatnam. NICDC's own project page notes the site is only 12 km from Kurnool Airport. For rail, the nearest railway station is Kurnool City railway station, situated in Kurnool, and for long-haul air cargo, the nearest international airport is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, at approximately 175 km to the north.

What Happens Next

The near-term focus is finishing trunk infrastructure on the 2,621-acre activation area so plots can be handed over to industries. With the EPC contract signed and site works beginning in December 2025, roads, power, water and drainage backbone are expected to be built out over the 2025–2028 window flagged for the project. In parallel, environmental clearances are being pursued for the next 2,470-acre parcel (Somayajulapalle and Komarolu) to bring Phase 2 industrial land online, moving the node toward the master plan's staged target of 1,424 / 3,594 / 5,017 cumulative industrial acres across its full 9,718.84-acre notified extent.

Alongside the core industrial plots, Drone City construction and investor onboarding (following its November 2025 launch) is expected to proceed, and further individual land allotments — as already seen with Virupaksha Organics and Guttapadu MSME Park tenants — are likely to continue as the state pursues its stated target of roughly Rs 50,000 crore in cumulative investment at Orvakal. Prospective investors and residents should treat any timeline beyond the current EPC contract window as indicative until NICDC or the Andhra Pradesh government issues fresh notifications.