French engine maker, Safran, plans to set up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India for the overhaul of engines in use by Indian and foreign commercial airlines. This was discussed during a meeting of a high-level delegation of the Safran Group, led by its CEO Olivier Andries, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday.
“The MRO facility through direct foreign investment of $150 million in Hyderabad is expected to create 500-600 highly skilled jobs. The facility will be able to overhaul over 250 engines per year in the beginning,” a Defence Ministry statement said.
Mr. Andries also briefed Mr. Singh of their plan to inaugurate this week, Safran Aircraft Engines and Safran Electrical & Power India Private Limited, both to come up in Hyderabad, and Safran-Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Aircraft Engines as a joint venture in Bengaluru.
Safran aircraft engine, Hyderabad, with an investment of Euro 36 million and located on 10 acres land in the Hyderabad Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will produce parts and components for advanced aircraft engines including rotating seals, the statement said.
Safran Electrical & Power India Pvt. Ltd. will produce harness for civil and fighter jets. The joint venture between Safran and HAL is for the production of rigid piping for aircraft engines, including helicopter engines. “The joint venture is expected to hire 160 new highly skilled personnel,” the Ministry said.
Mr. Andries outlined his company’s long-term plan in co-development and co-production of advanced jet engines and transfer of technology as per the existing policy of the Government of India, the statement said. Responding to this, Mr. Singh added, “We are a big market. However, we are increasingly focused on making in India for addressing the needs in a competitive manner and supplying to friendly foreign countries. You can leverage all the competitive advantages India offers, including the cost advantages and availability of trained manpower.”
