Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) will increase its stake in Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd from the current 21% to 49% for around Rs95 crore.

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Pawan Hans is expected to use the proceeds, along with other debt-based and government funding, for fleet expansion. The state-owned helicopter service company has huge expansion plans, which would be funded through ONGC’s equity investment and loan of around Rs275 crore, along with debt funding by NTPC of Rs55 crore and government funding of around Rs14 crore.

Pawan Hans, on Monday, introduced India’s first sea plane in Mumbai. The sea plane Cessna 208A has been taken on a wet lease for six months as a pilot project.

It would be operated in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands region. A seaplane, also known as an amphibian plane is capable of landing and taking-off from both land and water surfaces. This specific sea plane can carry nine passengers at a time.

The loan-based funding committed by NTPC and ONGC would be disbursed in tranches as and when Pawan Hans takes deliveries of helicopters. The loan term is around five years.

Pawan Hans is also negotiating an additional Rs100 crore from Border Roads Organisation. Company officials are hopeful that ONGC’s equity infusion would be complete by the end of this financial year.

By the end of 2011, the company plans to add around 15 more helicopters to its current fleet of 52 helicopters (41 helicopters + 11 on maintenance and operations). While seven of these 15 choppers have already been delivered, the remaining eight are expected to join the fleet by December 2011.

The total investment outlay for these 15 helicopters would be more than Rs600 crore.

Commenting on the company expansion plans, RK Tyagi, chairman and MD, Pawan Hans, said, “We aim to handle around 500 helicopters in the next two years. This would be possible because we are investing in MRO facilities and training academies. We are urging people to buy helicopters, which we would help maintaining. We are also in talks with the defence to allows us maintain their helicopters.”

On the recently introduced sea plane, Tyagi refused to state any exact number of sea planes that Pawan Hans would aim to induct in its fleet in the future.

However, he said the possibility of India having around 20- 40 seaplanes operational in the coming years. Praful Patel, Union minister for civil aviation named India’s first sea plane ‘Jal Hans’.

The minister spoke of extending seaplane operations to Lakshadweep, Kerala, Puri and other locations in future.