Boeing MRO at Nagpur on track

Nagpur: Aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Friday revealed that it was firm on its commitment to invest $100 million in the Nagpur Special Economic Zone and has signed a lease agreement with the developer of the SEZ, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), for allotment of 50 acres of land. Boeing intends to set up a maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility, a first of its kind for India, at the SEZ.
Boeing’s Vice-President (sales) Dinesh Keskar said that the deal should put to rest all speculations about the Boeing MRO at Nagpur. The Seattle-based company had first evinced interest in setting up the MRO at Nagpur in 2006.
However, as there was little progress after the announcement by the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of MADC R C Sinha, there were rumours about Boeing having abandoned the project.
A local organisation Vidarbha Economic Development Council (VED) moved the High Court for clarification from the authorities on the issue.
Expressing concern over the developments and the lack of clarity, the High Court had appointed an Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) to talk to Boeing on the matter and coordinate with the multiple agencies involved in the deal. Keskar explained the delay in signing the lease deed as the time required to finalise tie-ups. He said that the aircraft major expected to have the facility up and running by 2010. A former student of the city-based Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Keskar said that Nagpur was a logical choice for setting up the MRO base as the climate here suited such an endeavour. The generally dry weather of Nagpur was ideal for aircraft overhauling as parts do not corrode in a climate virtually without any humidity. Apart from this, Nagpur is the only airport in the country, which has an SEZ next to it.
01/02/09 Business Standard

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Categories: Foreign Feb 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2009