Hyderabad: IT and industries minister K.T. Rama Rao said on Thursday that the state government has stepped up efforts to set up an aviation university in the city in partnership with the industry besides setting up new aerospace and defense parks.
Rama Rao on Thursday inaugurated French multinational aviation company “Safran” group’s largest and first aircraft engine MRO (maintenance, repairs and operations) facility, which was set up with an initial investment of $150 million (about Rs 1,185 crore), in Shamshabad.
He said the Telangana government’s industry-friendly policies have helped the state in attracting major investments into the state from across the globe. Rama Rao stated that despite stiff competition from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, the National Capital Region and a few other states, Telangana has succeeded in getting the Safran facility to Hyderabad.
“Telangana (officials) held 35 meetings with the officials of Safran in Hyderabad, Delhi and Paris. There were more than 400-plus exchanges on mails and other communication channels to make the landing smooth for Safran. Our first dialogue started in 2018 and it was followed up by an MoU between Safran and the Telangana state government,” Rama Rao said.
“We have been in discussion for the Safran Aeroengine MRO project since 2020 to address the various techno-commercial aspects of the project. They were telling us that we were competing with Bengaluru and Chennai.
Telangana officials held meetings with airlines, the airport operator and other stakeholders to give confidence to Safran to get the MRO project to Hyderabad. Telangana also represented the GoI to rationalise GST on MRO to make the Indian MRO industry globally competitive,” the minister explained.
He stated that Hyderabad International Airport’s terminal expansion is expected to be completed by December. “I was hoping that the Civil Aviation Minister would come to this event. He had made some promises. Was hoping to remind the Ministry of Civil Aviation of more direct flights to France and the continental US, so people can skip Delhi and come to Hyderabad,” he said.
This MRO facility will be about 35,000 square metres and will come up in the GMR Industrial Park at Shamshabad. This project holds national significance as it is the first MRO being established by a global OEM in India.
Safran also has a digital technology unit Digit in Hyderabad to develop digital systems for Safran. In all, Safran now has four projects in Hyderabad with a total investment of $200 million (about Rs 1,580 crore).
He said the French company had considered at least 10 locations for the MRO before finalising Hyderabad due to the proactive support of the Telangana government and the presence of an enabling ecosystem. Rama Rao said Safran, which operated in a joint venture in India for 65 years, chose Hyderabad to venture on its own in India.
Safran Electrical and Power was announced in March 2018 with $8 million (now about Rs 63 crore) investment. The production of wire harnesses for aircraft engines commenced in a record nine months and over 8,000 harnesses have been delivered so far.
After seeing the support from the Telangana government and the quick turnaround time it experienced with its first project, Safran announced its second project, Safran Aircraft Engines, with an investment of $ 36 million (about Rs 285 crore) to manufacture components of LEAP turbofan engines. First deliveries from this happened in May 2022, Rama Rao Said.
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