Boeing, Airbus plan Rs 1,500-cr hub

Maharashtra pitches for aircraft repair centre in Nagpur.

Maharashtra is talking to European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and America's Boeing for setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Nagpur. The cost of the project is expected to be Rs 1,500 crore.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told Business Standard today that the proposed facility would form a part of the upcoming multi-nodal logistics hub at the Nagpur airport. India requires a number of MRO facilities as the aviation industry is embarking on massive expansion drive.

"The state is in talks with Airbus and Boeing and has invited proposals from them to set up a repair facility at Nagpur airport. The initial investment for this facility will be Rs 700 crore. It will go up to Rs 1,500 crore in its final phase," Deshmukh said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar held under the aegis of the Aeronautical Society of India, Deshmukh said the state was actively considering various aviation infrastructure projects and training facilities for pilots and engineers.

Indian Airlines and Air-India, as a part of their expansion programmes, had earlier planned to set up mega MROs in association with Airbus and Boeing. However, the plan never took off.

On a smaller scale, Kerala has allotted 11.5 acres of land in Thiruvananthapuram to Air-India for setting up an aircraft maintenance base at a cost of Rs 50 crore.

At a later stage, an additional 3.5 acres of land will be allotted for the project. This will help in undertaking maintenance of B737-800 aircraft in Kerala itself, from where most of flights of Air-India Express are being operated.

Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is also exploring options for setting up a new MRO with private-public partnership.

"The state will also consider proposals for allotting land for the Aeronautical Society of India and other aviation infrastructure projects," the chief minister added. Currently, majority of the heavy aircraft go abroad for maintenance.

Sources in Mantralaya, the headquarters of the state government, said hard lobbying was on by some political quarters to shift the location of the MRO to Baramati but the state government was keen to set up the project at Nagpur.

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Jumbo plans

Project: An aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility

Location: Nagpur

Investment: Initial investment Rs 700 cr; will go up to Rs 1500 cr

Partners: Airbus and Boeing