Hyderabad : The Telangana government will develop two more aerospace parks as part of its initiatives to garner 15 to 20 percent market share in aerospace and defence sector in next five years, officials said.
The aerospace park proposed over 1,000 acres near Ibrahimpatnam on Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway will be an extension of the existing aerospace Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Adiblatla, which houses Tata’s four units in joint venture with global majors like Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin and RUAG Aviation.
The third facility is being planned on the northern side of Hyderabad and it is most likely to come up near Warangal, which has an airstrip. This park will be focused on aero-replacement segment.
Telangana’s Special Chief Secretary, Industries and Commerce, K. Pradeep Chandra told reporters Tuesday that the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) move to replace its Avro fleet offers a huge opportunity for Hyderabad to emerge as aerospace and defence hub.
As no defence public sector company will be involved in Avro replacement, Hyderabad will have an edge as Bangalore is currently the biggest hub because of the presence of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Hyderabad is currently the second biggest hub of aerospace and defence industry but has the huge potential because of various strengths.
With the government hiking Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the defence to 49 percent, the size of aerospace and defence market in the country is estimated to go up from the current $20 billion to $200 billion in five years.
“Telangana is aiming to get 15 to 20 percent share of this market,” said Commissioner, Industries, Jayesh Ranjan.
The officials pointed out that Telangana will leverage on its strengths like existing SEZ at Adibatla, GMR’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility and aerospace SEZ at Hyderabad Airport, large number of defence research and development organizations, strong assembly base with the presence of over 500 SMEs.
The government has allotted space to 32 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for locating their units in Adibatla SEZ.
A three-day international conference on defence and aerospace beginning here Wednesday offers an opportunity to attract investment from global majors.
The Global Aerospace Expo, jointly organized by Telangana government and Kenes Exhibitions, is aimed at showcasing Telangana as the new investment hub in the defence and aerospace engineering.
The conclave will bring together global giants and SMEs on one platform. The officials hope that the event will lead to some joint ventures.
Over 100 delegates including representatives from 12 global firms like EADS, Airbus, Eurocopter, Dassault, UTC, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Hamilton, Zodiac, Philips Aircraft, UTC HQ and IAMF (Israeli Aerospace Manufacturing Federation) will participate in the expo.
The officials said the state government will soon come out with a policy, offering incentives to aerospace and defence sector.