JOIN USFrench Co Safran to set up aircraft engine parts unit
The GMR Hyderabad Aviation SEZ Limited (GHASL) has been chosen by French Aerospace firm Safran to base its Rs 260 cr, 13,000 sqm plant to manufacture aircraft engines parts, for LEAP turbofan engine from CFM International.
LEAP engines power more than 700 Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX commercial airliners, including 54 operated by Indian airlines.
Construction is likely to start by June 2019 with the production of the first parts by early 2020. The plant will have about 50 employees by the end of 2019 to launch operations, and will eventually have a workforce of 300. By 2023, the plant is expected to deliver 15,000 parts per year.
Safran had signed an agreement in 2018 to produce LEAP engine harnesses in a 4,000 sqm facility to be delivered by GHASL. Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aircraft propulsion and equipment, space and defence markets.
GBS Raju, Business Chairman – Airports, GMR Group, said, “Safran’s presence adds great value to the niche aerospace cluster which GMR is developing at Hyderabad Airport City. This agreement not only gives us an opportunity to develop the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the company, but also a prospect to contribute to the Telangana State Govt’s aggressive efforts towards turning Hyderabad into India's new aerospace and defence manufacturing destination.”
“Very excited to welcome Safran’s new investment in Telangana,” tweeted Telangana Rashtra Samithi working president and former IT minister K Taraka Rama Rao.