Mexico to discuss deals worth $150 mn at Paris Air Show

Le Bourget (France), June 18 (IANS/EFE) The governor of the Mexican state of Queretaro said Monday that he planned to discuss seven aviation investment projects worth $150 million with different companies during the 2013 Paris Air Show.

Jose Calzada said in a press conference at the Le Bourget exhibition centre that he had about 15 meetings planned with aviation and aerospace companies.

The governor will be meeting with Canada's Bombardier, which has already invested about $500 million in Queretaro.

Eurocopter, which has a presence in the state, is looking at "a potential investment of $500 million", Calzada said.

Queretaro is "a safe state, which invests in infrastructure", and is home to an aeronautical university that provides trained personnel, the governor said during an event at the Mexico Pavilion.

Spain's IPR was the first aerospace company to establish operations in Queretaro back in 1997 and the industry has experienced "exponential growth" since then, with investment totaling $1.5 billion, the governor said.

Queretaro now accounts for 30 percent of Mexico's aerospace exports, Calzada said.

Mexico's aerospace exports grew 16 percent to $5 billion in 2012, with 270 companies now operating in the sector, up from just 61 in 2005, Promexico director Francisco Gonzalez said.

The Mexico Pavillion at Le Bourget is hosting about 20 Mexican companies, with between eight and 10 others staffing their own exhibition spaces at the Paris Air Show, the biggest event of its kind in the aviation industry.

--IANS/EFE

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