Govt prepares blueprint for the project, floats Co for aviation infra.
Gujarat has set its eyes on the skies. Flying high on its locational advantage and congestion in Mumbai, the state is gearing up to become a hub for aircraft maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO) activities.
While a number of foreign companies have shown interest in investing in the state, which has a locational edge over others, the state government has roped in an agency to prepare a blue print.
The government has also decided to float a company Gujarat Airport Infrastructure Company (GAIC) to carry out plans of airport and related infrastructure development in the state. Any proposed development like airports and MROs would be studied by GAIC.
The aviation sector is fastest growing sector in the country. “All foreign companies which have sold aircrafts to any Indian operators have to make return investment in the country. Government has proposed to grab this investment opportunity and for this reason proposes to appoint an agency to carry out detailed analysis of this scope, be proposing plans and methods to bring the incoming foreign investment to Gujarat,” said an internal note prepared by the state industries department.
The government will appoint an agency which will work out a model to be presented to investors during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit to be held early next year.
“Gujarat government is considering developing an aeronautics MRO on a large scale. The state has several advantages such as land availability and resources. Gujarat is very strategically located and there is immense scope in the project because of the congestion in Mumbai,” said a senior government official.
A host of foreign companies, including Singapore’s SembCorp, have in the past evinced interest in Gujarat’s MRO story.
