Kerala Cabinet Clears Additional 90 Acres for BrahMos Aerospace Expansion in Thiruvananthapuram

The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday approved the release of an additional 90 acres of land to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the establishment of a new facility for BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) in the district.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, addressing a post-Cabinet briefing, stated that the State government had already released 90 acres earlier. The project requires a total of 180 acres, and the additional authorisation was necessary for DRDO to grant approvals.

The Supreme Court had in December 2025 given its approval for the transfer of land under the Nettukaltheri open prison complex to BATL. This unit, the second of BATL in Thiruvananthapuram district after the one at Chakka, is expected to focus on advanced missiles and strategic hardware.

BATL was established at Chakka in 2007 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd (BAPL) by taking over the Kerala government-owned Kerala Hi-Tech Industries Ltd (Keltec). It has been manufacturing systems and components for various organisations including DRDO, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), BAPL, and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

The new facility is expected to become a major link in the development of strategic industries in the aerospace and defence sector around Thiruvananthapuram. In the final Budget of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, then Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal had announced a ‘Defence Corridor’ linking various defence and space research institutions in the region, including BATL. In the first Budget (Revised Budget for 2026-27) of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has announced a ‘Southern Kerala Economic Corridor’ linking Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha districts into a unified economic zone of “national strategic importance.”