First independent MRO unit in India shelved

Hyderabad: It was to be India’s first independent aircraft maintenance and repair facility. But a year after the foundation stone was laid, the investors have backed out and the company has been shut.
Duke Aviation Engineering Pvt. Ltd had planned to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit in a special economic zone, or SEZ, in Nagpur run by Maharashtra Airport Development Co. Ltd, with an investment of $150 million (around Rs681 crore).
Ajith Karnik, who was a promoter and chief executive of Duke Aviation, said the project had to be shelved as the investors had backed out. “We would be reviving the project in a different name and different set of investors,” he said.
Duke Aviation was promoted by Karnik and Dubai-based Duke Equity Ltd, whose managing partner Gopal Patwardhan said now is not “the right time for civil aviation. We will be reviving the project after 18 months”.
Interest in the MRO business gained momentum during the Indian aviation industry’s boom years from 2004 to 2007, when domestic carriers decidin generaed to buy a total of around 500 planes over a five-year period, making the business a natural draw as maintenance accounts for around 13% of an airline’s operating cost.
But with the downturn and the scaling down of aircraft orders, prospects for MRO operators also appeared less rosy.
08/03/10 P.R. Sanjai/Live Mint

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2010