Reports of Kia Motors shifting from AP untrue, says state govt

Barely months after KIA Motors became fully operational in Amaravati, there are reports the automobile firm are shifting from Andhra Pradesh. Denying the news reports of the shift, the AP govt said the reports are untrue and KIA and theY.S. Jaganmohan Reddy government are working together. The AP government had signed its first agreement with Kia Motors in April 2017 after which the construction of the plant began in November 2017.

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday denied reports of Kia Motors shifting from the state.

Rajath Bhargava, Special Chief Secretary, Industries, Investments and Commerce, Andhra Pradesh said, "News report of Kia Motors shifting from Andhra Pradesh is not true. KIA and the state government are working together."

The senior official also denounced the reports and said, "We strongly condemn the news."

Kia Motors has 14 manufacturing centres across the globe and the unit at Erramanchi village in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district is the 15th one.

Kia Motors, a South Korean car manufacturer, is also planning to manufacture electric vehicles from this unit after 2025. The unit is expected to provide regular employment to 4,000 people and temporary employment to 7,000.

"In tune with the government policy of developing backward areas with industrialisation and providing 75 per cent reservation for locals in jobs, KIA project will generate employment for 4,000 permanent employees and 7,000 temporary employees with 100 per cent employment to local people for its unskilled labour requirement," the state government had said in a press statement ahead of unit's inauguration in December last year.

The Andhra Pradesh government had signed its first agreement with Kia Motors in April 2017 after which the construction of the plant began in November 2017.