Cadbury comes calling at SriCity

To set up Asia-Pacific's largest facility at the SEZ, Rs 1,000 cr Phase-I to be ready by mid-2015

Cadbury India, a part of Nasdaq-listed Mondelez International group, on Wednesday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government for setting up its largest Asia-Pacific manufacturing facility in the state.

To come up across 134 acres in the SriCity SEZ, the 250,000 tonne capacity per annum plant would be commissioned in four phases moving into 2020. In Phase-I, involving an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, Cadbury plans to bring around 50 per cent of the planned capacity by mid-2015.

Once fully operational, it would serve up to 50 per cent needs of Cadbury India and would be manufacturing the full-range of products. It would generate direct employment to 1,600 individuals by 2020.

The facility would help “expand and sustain business in India,” said Manu Anand, managing director, Cadbury India. The surplus production would be put for exports, he added. Cadbury India has six manufacturing facilities in India.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said, “At the peak capacity, the plant would consume one million litres of milk and 100-200 tonnes of sugar per annum, benefitting 400,000-550,000 farmers in nearby Chittoor district.”

Reddy said the state emerged as the best destination in the country in attracting new investments. With more and more large companies coming with their  proposals, “it serves as a testimony to the prevailing investment climate in the state,” he added.

As part of its well-defined supplier diversity programme, the state had been working steadfast with large companies to see entire downstream value-chain is captured, said principal secretary - industries and commerce Pradeep Chandra.