Company plans maintenance, overhaul of civil aircraft at Ozar

NASHIK: The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is planning to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for civil aircraft at its Ozar division.
Currently, the company has MRO facility for defence aircraft at its Ozar and Bangalore divisions. Now it proposes to expand its operations.
T Suvarna Raju, chairman and the managing director, said: "The HAL is engaged in manufacturing defence aircraft and have produced 3,900 aircraft across all divisions so far.Besides, it has overhauled 6,000 engines. Whatever we supply, whether they are indigenous or licensed products, everything is overhauled at HAL divisions. The HAL has MRO facilities for defence aircraft at its Nashik and Bangalore divisions. The company has expertise in doing MRO for defence aircraft."
Raju added, "Now, we are planning to enter into MRO of civil aircraft. Doing MRO of civil aircraft in India is around 35% costlier compared to our neighbouring countries. We have urged the government to reduce taxes and look into the things that increase the cost of MRO of civil aircraft and it is under consideration. It may be more beneficial for the civil airline operators who are flying here to do MRO in the country instead of going out. We are exploring the possibilities of setting up an MRO facility for civil aircraft at Ozar. The Boeing has an MRO facility at Nagpur, but we don’t want to be a competitor."
Raju said, "We have not set any deadline to set up the MRO facility for civil aircraft here. We want to see how business generates and airport becomes viable. Once it develops to the MRO level, we will set up the facility."
The sources said, "The HAL is planning to establish MRO facility for category C and category D checks for narrow and wide body aircraft and will offer services like MRO hangers and parking bays, adequate infrastructure for the facility and also offer the existing state-of-the-art painting hanger. The HAL, with its vast experience in aviation field and expertise in design, repair and manufacturing, apart from infrastructure, machinery and skilled manpower, will be an added advantage for establishing MRO facility for civil aircraft."