A view of Hope Island on the Kakinada coast in East Godavari district. | Photo credit: File Photo
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced on 17 January 2026 (Saturday) that the Andhra Pradesh government is preparing to develop a satellite launch facility as part of the Space City project at Hope Island in Kakinada Bay.
Hope Island, which is part of the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in the Godavari estuary, is more than 600 km from the Satish Dhawan Space Center of the Indian Space Research Organization (SHAR-ISRO), at Sriharikota in the erstwhile Nellore district.
Addressing a gathering of foreign renewable energy investors and state government officials after conducting a ‘bhumi puja’ for a green hydrogen and green ammonia complex in Kakinada, Mr Naidu said: “Soon (Andhra Pradesh) we will launch satellites from Hope Island. It will come soon and Kakinada will have a lot of advantages in terms of technology and innovation.”
“Greenko Group is showing interest to be a part of the government’s Space City project, which includes development of satellite launch facilities. In a recent interaction, Greenko founder and group CEO Anil Kumar Chalamalsetty showed interest in the Space City project at Hope Island,” Mr. Naidu said.
“Kakinada will go to the next level with innovation and technology when the Space City project begins,” Mr. Naidu said.
An eighteen kilometer long spit of land, locally known as Hope Island, formed from the sediments brought by the Godavari River a hundred years ago, serves as a natural barrier against calamities and a natural facility for safe navigation for the operation of two ports – Kakinada Anchorage Port and Deep-Sea Port.
Opposite Hope Island, on the land front, is the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) base. Inhabited by fishermen, the island is a winter home to 42 species of birds and a nesting ground for Olive Ridley turtles.
Published – 17 Jan 2026 20:25 IST