Satellite launching facility will come up on Hope Island in the Kakinada Bay, says Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on January 17, 2026 (Saturday) announced that the Andhra Pradesh Government was preparing to develop a satellite launching facility as part of the Space City project on the Hope Island in the Kakinada Bay.

Hope Island, which is a part of the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in the Godavari estuary, is over 600 km from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (SHAR-ISRO), at Sriharikota in the erstwhile Nellore district.

Addressing the gathering of foreign investors in renewable energies and officials of the State government after performing ‘bhumi puja’ for the Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia Production Complex in Kakinada, Mr. Naidu said, “Soon, we (Andhra Pradesh) will launch satellites from the Hope Island. It will come soon, and Kakinada will have a lot of advantages in the field of technology and innovation.”

“The Greenko Group is evincing interest in being a part of the State government’s Space City project that includes developing satellite launching facility. In a recent interaction, Greenko Founder and Group CEO Anil Kumar Chalamalsetty has shown interest in the Space City project on the Hope Island,” said Mr. Naidu.

“Kakinada will go to the next level with innovations and technologies when the Space City project commences,” said Mr. Naidu.

Formed with the sediments brought in by the Godavari river a century ago, the 18-km-long spit of land, locally known as Hope Island, serves as a natural barrier from calamities and a natural facility for a safe navigational route for the operation of the two ports — Kakinada Anchorage Port and Deep-Sea Port.

Opposite to the Hope Island, on the land front, is the base of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC). The island is inhabited by fisherfolk and is the winter home for 42 species of birds and a breeding ground for Olive Ridley turtles.