One man, one city

With faith, foresight, and a corridor conversation, Sannareddy has transformed a scrubland into an industrial nerve centre, writes Shine Jacob

- Shine Jacob

It almost feels like Chennai has quietly extended its industrial embrace across the Andhra Pradesh border to Sri City. The 55-km drive to this manufacturing hub, in the Tirupati district, is lined with warehouses and factory sheds, their insignia ranging from global conglomerates to rising Indian giants — all strategically leveraging their proximity to Chennai Port.

The four-lane highway buzzes with container traffic, its rhythm set by South India's manufacturing metronome. At the end of it all, nestled among dry scrubland and slow-growing trees, is Sri City — a dream built on stubborn optimism, spiritual roots, and strategic foresight, one that transformed an obscure village into a thriving industrial town.

"From metro trains to toothpaste, chocolate to air conditioners — even pillows — everything is made here," says an employee at the gate with a matter-of-fact grin.

That isn't marketing bravado. With over 230 companies operating from Sri City, the zone has attracted investments upwards of $5 billion and has facilitated exports exceeding $4 billion.

Among the firms that have a presence here are Alstom, which makes rolling stock for Metro trains, consumer durables companies like Blue Star, Panasonic, Daikin, and Havells, fast-moving consumer goods players such as Mondelez India Foods, Tata Foods, Colgate-Palmolive, and Kellogg's, besides Sundram Fasteners, Thermax, JSW, and so on.

At the guest house canteen inside this 10,000-acre multiproduct special economic zone (SEZ), Ravindra Sannareddy, co-founder and managing director of Sri City, is already waiting. The man behind this manufacturing hub has a warm handshake and an even warmer welcome as he leads me into a dining area where stainless steel thalis are being polished and arranged.

As lunch is prepared, Sannareddy, 62, offers a quick orientation to the transformation that began here 17 years ago.