KTR praises Foxconn facility, says MoU inked during BRS regime yielding thousands of jobs

Taiwanese giant and Apple supplier Foxconn’s factory near Hyderabad was in the spotlight after BRS leader K.T.Rama Rao’s social media post on how the facility, for which MoU was signed when the party was in power, is operational and employing thousands of people.

“My heart is filled with pride and joy to see this Foxconn investment take shape,” the former IT and Industries Minister said, posting visuals of the plant, for manufacturing AirPods, in Kongara Kalan, near here. Three years after the MoU was signed in the presence of then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, the factory is up and running, employing thousands of people.

There was no response from senior leaders of ruling Congress to the post on X, which comes on the heels of his visit to Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) Hospital in Sanathnagar. In a post after the visit, he said the hospital was one of three such whose construction was started by BRS government. “Glad to visit Sanathnagar TIMS Hospital today, where world-class medical services for poor and middle class families have finally begun despite delays caused by the Congress government’s negligence,” he had posted on May 15.

On the Foxconn facility, sources in the government said Foxconn Interconnect Technology operates the factory and makes wireless earbuds for both domestic use and global export.

While $500 million (around ₹4,100 crore) was initial investment committed, when the project broke ground in May 2023, it since has been raised to ₹5,000 crore. Foxconn had increased its target investment to $550 million (around ₹4,800 crore).

Over ₹3,000 crore has been deployed on the facility, which includes the 1.6 million sq ft manufacturing space, trial phases and relocation of high-tech production lines from its Vietnam plants to ramp up AirPods output. The remaining investment will be carried out over a multi-year cycle to further enhance capacities.

After the Congress came to power, another MoU was signed under which the government committed to certain incentives and reimbursement based on the investment made on the project. The employment figures have also increased 3,000 to 5,000 under the present regime, sources said.

In October 2024, Chief Minister A.Revanth Reddy and Industries and IT Minister D.Sridhar Babu reviewed the progress of the facility and assured necessary support . Officials had then hinted at formal inauguration of the plant by 2024.