CSIR to seek proposals for developing regional transport aircraft
India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will soon invite expression of interest (EoI) from the aerospace industry to develop a 90-seater regional transport aircraft (RTA) for feeder service under public-private partnership, a senior official said Monday.
"An EoI will be floated soon for private participation in the design and development of an indigenous RTA for short-haul feeder service to cities and towns across the country," state-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) director A.R. Upadhya told reporters here.
The civilian RTA project has been approved by the 15-member high powered committee for national civil aircraft development, set up by the CSIR in May 2010 under the chairmanship of G. Madhavan Nair, former chairman of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
“The committee has decided to set up a joint venture with state-run aeronautical organisations and the private industry led by a principal partner. The State Bank of India Capital Markets Ltd (SBICAPS) and IDBI Bank Ltd will be asked to develop a business model for marketing the regional aircraft,” Upadhya said.
The design and development of the first prototype is estimated to cost about Rs.4,500 crore ($1 billion) in a five-year timeline. As per aviation market projections, the country will require about 500-600 regional aircraft, while the global market is estimated to be about 10-fold (5,000-6,000 aircraft).
The Bangalore-based NAL, which is part of the CSIR and a nodal agency for the project, will also be exploring overseas partners and vendors at the upcoming Aero India 2011 event on the outskirts of this tech hub next month.
"We will be making a presentation at the air show to the aerospace industry on the RTA project and explore participation by overseas firms in the proposed joint venture," Upadhya said.
The government has recently sanctioned about Rs.50 crore to the high powered committee for preparing a feasibility report in the next three-four months. "The report will decide on the configuration, airframe, sub-systems, engine and market potential. It will also study the option of having a 70-seater aircraft," Upadhya pointed out.
The feasibility study will also decide if the aircraft should be fitted with turboprop engine or turbo jet engine. "The design centre for the regional civilian aircraft project will be set up in Bangalore under the supervision of NAL. Private partners will be involved right from the design stage. We will also explore a joint venture for developing the engine with a global aerospace major," Upadhya added.
