Gujarat seals Rs 21,000-crore manufacturing facility deal with Airbus

A manufacturing facility for the production of Airbus C295 transport aircraft will come up in Vadodara in Gujarat, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said on Thursday.

The foundation laying ceremony for setting up of the facility will be held on October 30 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend it, officials said.

“For the first time, the C-295 aircraft will be manufactured outside of Europe,” Kumar said.

In September last year, India sealed a nearly Rs 21,000 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C-295 transport aircraft to replace the ageing Avro-748 planes of the IAF under a project that entails manufacturing of military aircraft in India for the first time by a private company.

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Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in fly-away condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain, within four years, and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by the Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.

The regulatory approval for the ambitious programme was accorded by the Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) last week.

(With Agency inputs)