The facility, costing Rs 79.20 crore, has been developed by the engineering arm of AIESL
Union minister for civil aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju at RGI airport for the inauguration of India's first indigenous Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at on Friday. AIESL CEO H.R. Jagannath is also seen. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad: Union civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Friday inaugurated an indigenous Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the Hyderabad International Airport. The facility, costing Rs 79.20 crore, has been developed by the engineering arm of Air India — Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL).
This is the second MRO at the Hyderabad airport, the other one being a private one operated by GMR. Mr Raju said that Hyderabad had the potential of becoming the powerhouse of MRO business in South Asia. The MRO is spread over five acres with a hanger of 9,000 square metres and a built-up area of 2,80,000 square feet.
It can accommodate two narrow-body aircraft or a single, wide-body aircraft like Boeing 787, 777 or 747. H.R. Jagannath, CEO, AIESL, said that the MRO would have 200 engineers working round the clock. It has already provided employment to 530 technical and non-technical staff. The MRO, as of now, will exclusively serve the AI fleet of 125 aircraft. Another such facility, at a cost of Rs 600 crore, will be inaugurated in Nagpur in a week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
States should cut fuel costs: Civil Aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju
Speaking on the role of state governments to boost aviation trade, Union civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Friday that Value Added Tax and Aviation Turbine Fuel costs, which were state subjects, needed to be brought down to boost aviation trade. Forty-five per cent of airlines’ operational costs depend on ATF prices. Giving the example of Andhra Pradesh, he said that the AP government had brought down ATF prices after which the number of flights in the state had gone up from 147 to 243.
He said that he had written about the same to the CMs of all states, including Telangana, but there had been no replies yet. He said, “As per my view, there are just three modern airports in the country, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and New Delhi. If these states do their bit for the reduction of VAT and ATF costs, it would definitely boost the aviation trade.”
Need to boost mro in india, says Civil Aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju
Civil Aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Friday that Centre must take steps to provide a boost to the MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft) business. Mr Raju stressed the need to cut Customs Duty and Service Tax for boosting the MRO business and said that he had spoken about it with Union finance minister Arun Jaitley.
He said the MRO business was worth $700 million globally. As of now, a majority of planes from India are taken to Singapore, Dubai and even Sri Lanka for maintenance, repair and overhauling.
AIESL CEO H.R. Jagannath pointed out the hurdles in running the MRO business in India. He said, “While the government has given incentives to boost airline business, the same is required for MRO. Customs duty is free for airlines while it is free only for a year for MRO. Service tax is 14 per cent for MRO but none for airlines. Also, OEMs should provide component manuals and technology transfers as equipment worth crores are bought from them in India.”
( Source : dc correspondent )
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