03-03-2010, 03:18 PM
[size="6"]Helicopter assembly line in Hyderabad[/size]
Hyderabad: The operator of Hyderabad airport would lease out 6-12 acres of land to set up a $70-100 million helicopter factory, two executives of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (Ghial) said on Tuesday.
The chopper assembly line will be built jointly by an Indian firm and a foreign aerospace company, said D. Ravindran, chief operating officer, aviation and aerospace business, Ghial. He declined to name the firms.
Mint had reported on 17 February that Anglo-Italian helicopter firm AgustaWestland will seek government approval for a 49% stake in a joint venture with Tata Sons Ltd to set up a final assembly unit for its AW-119 choppers in Hyderabad. It was not immediately clear if this proposed venture would build the factory at the airport.
Work on the assembly line will begin in two-three months, the two Ghial executives said on condition of anonymity.
This is part of the firmââ¬â¢s plans to increase earnings from the 5,495 acres it has at its disposal. Ghial intends to lease out 125 acresââ¬âincluding the helicopter projectââ¬âin the next three years to aerospace providers, convention centres, aviation academies and similar facilities.
Ghial has leased out 25 acres for an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility to a venture of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and Jet Airways (India) Ltd, which is likely to cost at least $70 million and expected to be functional next year.
US-based aircraft engine maker CFM International will also start training engineers at the airport from 8 March. Ghial is also in talks with seat manufacturing firms to set up a facility and with GE Commercial Aviation Services to facilitate the maintenance of aircraft returned by carriers after the lease period expires, Ravindran said.
Hyderabad: The operator of Hyderabad airport would lease out 6-12 acres of land to set up a $70-100 million helicopter factory, two executives of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (Ghial) said on Tuesday.
The chopper assembly line will be built jointly by an Indian firm and a foreign aerospace company, said D. Ravindran, chief operating officer, aviation and aerospace business, Ghial. He declined to name the firms.
Mint had reported on 17 February that Anglo-Italian helicopter firm AgustaWestland will seek government approval for a 49% stake in a joint venture with Tata Sons Ltd to set up a final assembly unit for its AW-119 choppers in Hyderabad. It was not immediately clear if this proposed venture would build the factory at the airport.
Work on the assembly line will begin in two-three months, the two Ghial executives said on condition of anonymity.
This is part of the firmââ¬â¢s plans to increase earnings from the 5,495 acres it has at its disposal. Ghial intends to lease out 125 acresââ¬âincluding the helicopter projectââ¬âin the next three years to aerospace providers, convention centres, aviation academies and similar facilities.
Ghial has leased out 25 acres for an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility to a venture of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and Jet Airways (India) Ltd, which is likely to cost at least $70 million and expected to be functional next year.
US-based aircraft engine maker CFM International will also start training engineers at the airport from 8 March. Ghial is also in talks with seat manufacturing firms to set up a facility and with GE Commercial Aviation Services to facilitate the maintenance of aircraft returned by carriers after the lease period expires, Ravindran said.