Public carrier Indian and CFM International have joined hands to set up a facility for maintenance, repair and overhaul of CFM56 engines in the country.

Both the companies signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday which envisages setting up the facility jointly to perform full spectrum of services, including engine disassembly and in-house repairing of components of CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B engines, according to a CFM release.

These aircraft engines would be fitted into the 43 new aircraft ordered by Indian from Airbus Industrie.

"This is a landmark agreement that will benefit not just our fleet but the aviation industry in India. For Indian, it would mean significant savings, better engine turnaround time and increased engine availability for operations" CMD Indian Vishwapati Tripathi was quoted by the release as saying.

"We are obviously very pleased with this agreement and are looking forward to becoming an integral part of the booming Indian aviation industry," Eric Brachelet, President and CEO of CFM said, it added.

Apart from servicing the engines of the public sector carrier, the MRO facility would also be offered to other Indian and foreign carriers.