Lufthansa Technik to set up maintenance and repair facility at Hyderabad airport

Lufthansa Technik, a leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services of airplanes and engines, will set up a new facility in India to support the growing aviation sector.

The new facility will come up near the upcoming Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport, at Shamshabad in Andhra Pradesh.

Lufthansa Technik will team up with the GMR Group, one of India's leading infrastructure developers and the concessionaire of the airports at Hyderabad and Delhi.

Lufthansa Technik will be the majority stakeholder in the joint venture, holding over 75 per cent in the equity capital.

The facility will provide base maintenance services (including C- and D-checks) for Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 aircraft, including 737 Classic and 737 NG (Next Generation).

The facility is expected to commence operations at the end of 2008 with two parallel lines to serve the maintenance requirements of the rapidly growing narrow-body fleet of Indian carriers.

Investment in the two-bay hangar and its state-of-the-art workshops will exceed Rs100 crore ($20 million) in the initial phase the construction of the 20,000 square meter facility shall begin in summer 2007.

"We see this venture as the foundation for a long lasting partnership, and the basis for a state-of-the-art technical cooperation for the benefit of our existing and future airline partners in India," said August W. Henningsen, chairman of the executive board, Lufthansa Technik AG.

"With more than 400 airplanes on order, the Indian aviation market is one of the fastest growing in the world. The new facility will complement the existing MRO support being provided to new as well as existing fleets in India and ensures an optimal MRO support within the country,'' he added.

''The setup of a MRO facility by Lufthansa Technik is an important step to establish a full-service world-class airport to match Hyderabad's status as the economic powerhouse of the region," said T Srinagesh, chief operating officer of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.

Hyderabad's geographic location makes it a strategic hub for domestic and international air traffic a vantage point for the first dedicated third-party MRO facility in India, he added.