Air India-Boeing MRO JV project design soon

US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, which is setting up a multi-million dollar maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at the upcoming Special Economic Zone near Nagpur as a joint venture with Air India, is likely to submit the project design to the authorities soon, a top official said.

The company has already appointed an architect to prepare the design of the MRO facility, the official said.

"The architect has been appointed... They have taken the measurement... They will submit the (project) design very soon," Maharashtra Airport Development Company Vice-Chairman and Managing Director R C Sinha told PTI.

Once the design is finalised, it will be submitted to MADC for approval, Sinha said.

"Construction work is expected to start within this calender year," he said.

The $100 million MRO, spread over an area of 50 acres, is a part of the industrial offset agreement between the national air carrier and Boeing Company following the placement of a massive $11 billion order for 68 Boeing aircraft, including 27 Dreamliner 787s, in January, 2006.

The state-of-the-art facility would be used for maintenance of the Boeing-777 and 787 fleet of the National Aviation Company of India (NACIL), which is the holding company of Air India. Boeing Company will be responsible for construction and equipping the facility.

The Air India-Boeing joint venture project also plans to offer maintenance, repair and overhaul services to third parties.