N Chandrababu Naidu will have every reason to be pleased. For the Chief Minister of AP, it has been a relentless journey in convincing the Kia management to set up a plant in Anantapur, considered amongst the driest districts in the country.

It was no surprise that Naidu described the trial production event as one of his happiest days. After all, this is a mega plant that can employ nearly 10,000 people, the best piece of news to the local population.

During his tenure as CM of united Andhra Pradesh before 2004, Naidu was constantly wooing a host of auto-makers to set up shop, a list that included Proton of Malaysia and Volkswagen. The former was allotted land near Vishakhapatnam, but the global slowdown of 2008 proved to be the spoilsport. Likewise, VW changed track and opted for Chakan near Pune to establish its facility.

Back in the CM’s chair now, albeit of a new and fragmented AP, Naidu quickly stepped on the gas and kicked off talks with Kia. He assured the Korean car-maker of water supply in this arid zone. This was achieved by interlinking the Godavari and Krishna with the Pattiseema lift irrigation project, bringing water to the Gandikota reservoir and later diverting it to the plant site.

“I am happy that the plant has come up in Anantapur and will play a role in securing jobs for the locals, both within the company as well as in ancillary units. It will also attract more investments into the State,” said Naidu.

Naidu has already got other automotive brands into the State and this is a long list comprising Isuzu Motors, Ashok Leyland, Hero MotoCorp, Apollo Tyres, Bharat Forge, Brakes India and Amara Raja Batteries.

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