The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : HAL airport set to emerge as maintenance hub

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 28, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

HAL airport set to emerge as maintenance hub

Staff Reporter

HAL is in talks with European Airbus Industrie to set up the MRO facility

BANGALORE: As Bangaloreans get ready to travel 40 km to the Bangalore International Airport in Devanahalli from 2008, the existing HAL airport is poised to emerge as a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub.

State-owned aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is in talks with European Airbus Industrie to set up the MRO facility at the airport.

With even domestic flights shifting to Devanahalli, the HAL airport will also emerge as a key flight-testing and certification facility for HAL and the Aircraft Systems and Training Establishment (ASTE) of the Indian Air Force.

House journal

At the launch of HAL's new in-house journal "The Plane" here on Wednesday, HAL chairman Ashok K. Baweja said that HAL, which now earned about Rs. 150 crore from commercial operations at the airport, could easily offset the revenue through the MRO.

HAL was putting up a new radar system and improving the taxi track to help more aircraft take-offs and landings at the airport, he said.

HAL had entered into a contract with global aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney to set up an engine component manufacturing unit at the company's Koraput complex. It had inked another deal with Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to make fuselages for a business jet, Mr. Baweja said.

Under the tie-up, HAL will manufacture fuselages for the G150 business jets meant for the Gulfstream fleet in the U.S., he said.

Terming HAL's order book as "very good" with projects worth Rs. 29,000 crore, Mr. Baweja said that with such strong financials the company was poised for a turnover of more than $3 billion in the next five years. On the $700-million 60-tonne Indo-Russian Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MRTA) project, Mr. Baweja said the development stage would begin soon. Initially, the aircraft with a range of 7,000 km would be developed for military freight, considering the country's huge demand for it.

HAL would participate with 13 aircraft types in the international aerospace exposition, "Aero-India 2007," scheduled for February next year, he said.

Besides Europeans and Russians, Mr. Baweja said the Americans would have a big presence this year with participation by firms such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

ALH project

On the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) project, Mr. Baweja said the new version with glass cockpit and multi-function controls was now under certification. The process would be completed in February next. The first batch of this ALH version would be delivered to the Indian Army, he said.

While next year's ALH would feature a new cockpit and new engine, the weaponised version would be ready two years after that. To address the backlog for 200 to 250 helicopters, he said the company would scale up production to about 35 a year.

On the Light Combat Helicopter, Mr. Baweja said HAL would set up a design centre, where selected private firms would be allowed (in partnership) to conduct design analysis.

HAL had also launched a joint venture with Edgewood Ventures, LLC, U.S., for development and manufacture of high-technology miniature modules for aerospace applications, he added.

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