GMR likely to set up MRO unit without Jet Airways

Infrastructure major GMR is all set to go ahead with its aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in the vicinity of the Hyderabad international airport, but without one of its earlier key stakeholders - Jet Airways.

GMR has been working on setting up the MRO jointly with Malaysian Aerospace Engineering, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) and Jet Airways.

Through this deal, Jet Airways was also seen to become the anchor client to make use of the MRO facility to maintain its over 100 aircraft fleet. However, the MRO facility will now start functioning without Jet Airways participating in it.

“It is not that the doors are completely closed for Jet. For now, their participation in the project as a stakeholder is on hold,” a source said.

GMR and MAS are jointly setting up the MRO facility with an outlay of over Rs300 crore including an equity component of about Rs77 crore.

With Jet, which was to acquire about 26% equity, not coming forward, the project is being executed as a 50:50 joint venture between GMR and MAS.

Though the officials of GMR have not made any formal announcement, the facility is likely to commence formal operations from Tuesday. “We have already done the pooja for the facility last month. So, it is going to be a low-key affair on Tuesday,” the source said.

The change in the business plan also seems to be in the form tapping other airlines to be the initial customers instead of Jet Airways. According to sources, the GMR venture is now looking at two low-cost airlines to start using the facility.

Though this could not be confirmed independently, SpiceJet and Kingfisher Airlines are likely to be the key customers of the MRO facility to begin with and the marketing team of the venture is said to be in talks with few more airlines, including GoAir and Indigo for making use of the facility instead of flying their aircraft out of India for maintenance.