The Wadia Group, which owns GoAir, will set up a joint venture company along with Singapore-based SIA Engineering Company Limited.
MUMBAI: The Wadia Group, which owns GoAir, will set up a joint venture company along with Singapore-based SIA Engineering Company Limited to offer maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services in India.
Jeh Wadia, managing director, GoAir, and William Tan, chief executive, SIA Engineering, signed a Term Sheet to form the JVC on Tuesday in Mumbai.
As per the deal, Wadia Group will hold 49% stake in the JVC while the SIA Engineering Company will have 51% shareholding and shall also manage the greenfield facility.
The proposed JVC aims to be the preferred line maintenance service provider of both narrow and wide-body aircraft in India.
The JVC is expected to start line maintenance services by November this year at eight major airports and will expand to more airports subsequently.
There are also plans to develop the JVC into a centre of excellence for airframe maintenance of A320 and B737NG airliners, and the establishment of a leading aerospace engineering training institute, the officials said.
SIA Engineering, a major provider of aircraft MRO services in Asia Pacific, has a client base of more than 80 international carriers and aerospace equipment manufacturers.
Jeh Wadia said: “India, more than any other country, is perfect to be a lower cost MRO provider for both Indian and International Airlines, mainly because of the large pool of untapped engineering talent the country has.”
The lack of a world-class MRO facility was a major hurdle in India and with this new venture, the Wadia Group and SIA Engineering will significantly contribute towards supporting the increased traffic both internationally and domestically, he added.
At present, we focus on MRO services for Indian aircrafts, but we plan to outsource services to international players later, said Rajiv Halve, chief commercial officer, GoAir.
The greenfield facility is expected to start functioning within one year, he added. However, he refused to divulge any financial details.
According to William Tan, the ongoing liberalisation drive of India’s aviation sector, coupled with the strong growth of its economy, is boosting demand for passenger and cargo air traffic.
This has manifested in the expanding fleets of new generation aircraft in the Indian sub-continent, which require the support of modern, world-class MRO facilities, he added.
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