Air India, Tata Advanced Systems to pump Rs 2,300 cr in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Feb 19 (PTI) Tata Group companies Air India and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) plan to invest Rs 2,300 crore in Karnataka in multiple projects which will provide employment to about 1,650 people, an official statement here on Monday said.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil were among those present at an MoU signing ceremony regarding this.
Patil said Air India plans to establish an airframe Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at Bengaluru International Airport with an investment plan of Rs 1,300 Crore which is likely to employ 1,200 people. This will be the first-of-its-kind facility in India and will open doors for a full-scale MRO, Patil claimed.
Air India will also create an aviation hub at Bengaluru Airport which will increase the economic activity and air traffic through Bengaluru, he added.
According to a National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) study, the hub creation will increase the passengers handled at the airport by eight MPPA (Million Passengers Per Annum) thus giving direct and indirect employment opportunities to 25,000 to 26,000 people due to a boost in business activity, support staff and tourism in Karnataka, an official statement said.
TASL is planning to set up three projects with a total investment of Rs 1,030 crore -- Passenger to Freighter Aircraft Conversion facility (Rs 420 crore), a gun manufacturing facility (Rs 310 crore) and Aerospace and Defence Research and Development in Karnataka (Rs 300 crore). These projects would generate direct employment for 450 people, it said.
TASL plans to source more than 50 per cent of its 13,000 parts from Karnataka for its gun manufacturing facility, which is estimated to provide employment to 2,000-3,000 people in 300-350 small and medium enterprises, the statement added.
"All these projects are first-of-its-kind in India and will be located at Bengaluru International Airport and Kolar and will further strengthen the Aerospace and Defence ecosystem of Karnataka," the statement said.
Noting that such projects require streamlined support from the government in terms of clearances, approvals and interventions, Patil assured that they will give their complete backing to resolve any challenges pertaining to their implementation. PTI
