Airplane engine major Pratt & Whitney is planning to set up an aircraft engine workshop in India. This comes close on the heels of aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing announcing plans to set up aircraft repair facilities.
India is fast becoming the favourite destination for international aerospace majors, with the carriers in India placing orders for over 300 aircraft. Pratt & Whitney, which has sold over 250 engines to various Indian carriers, is in talks with a leading engineering firm to partner for the project.
Industry sources said the estimated investment for a full service aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul is at Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion).
Speaking on the sidelines of business interactive meeting organised by Confederation of Indian Industry, Satheeshkumar Kumarasingam, general manager (India), Pratt & Whitney confirmed the development and said, "We are exploring opportunities in setting up an engine MRO, but nothing has been finalised yet."
However, sources said two state governments have approached Pratt & Whitney for setting up the engine MRO facility. Kumarasingam declined to divulge details on the proposed location of the site. Sources said this international major is looking at land near one of the metro airports.
"The company is also looking at tax breaks and incentives for setting up the facility. The company is currently busy in finalising its Indian partner," a source said.
An engine repair facility in India will help airline cut cost considerably, as most of the carrier now use international facilities of these companies to service engines. "Currently, these engines are serviced in Pratt & Whitney's Singapore engine MRO," said analysts.
Pratt & Whitney, a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines, has recently sold engines to Kingfisher Airlines, Air Deccan and Jet Airways.
Recently, Pratt & Whitney was selected by Kingfisher Airlines to power its new fleet of Airbus A330 aircraft. The deal was for ten PW4000-100 installed engines, one spare and an option for an additional 10 engines.
