Airbus says work on Indian MRO to commence shortly

France: European aircraft maker Airbus has clarified that an MRO facility, which it is obliged to set up in India will come up in a very short while. For Airbus India its third largest market where it commands over 70 per cent market share.

"The delay in setting up the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility was due to our inability to find a partner. But I am telling you, we are very serious about this and the work on the proposed facility will begin in a very, very short time," Airbus executive VP for sales and marketing Kiran Rao informed news agencies here at the Airbus headquarters.

"I just got some communication that we have got a private partner and we are soon to start work on the MRO facility. Accordingly, we have identified the location and we are going to start work very soon. We have to do it. It is a question of just beginning the work," he said. 

India's central investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a preliminary enquiry into the Rs8,000 crore deal to supply 43 Airbus aircraft to erstwhile Indian Airlines. The domestic carrier is currently merged with Air India.

CBI began a probe into the deal last year when it emerged that clauses which governed setting up of an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) unit, training centre and a warehouse, worth $17.5 crore by Airbus, were allegedly diluted by some officials.

The deal was finalised in September 2005 when an Empowered Group of Ministers had given its clearance after Airbus agreed to set-up MRO facilities as part of a deal to supply 43 aircraft to Indian Airlines.