MADC finalises draft MoU, for Rafael aircraft service centre in MIHAN SEZ

The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) on Tuesday finalised a draft of a pact to be signed with Dassault Reliance Aerospace Express Limited (DRAL) to facilitate it to sub-lease a part of its plot in Multi-modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) special economic zone (SEZ) to Dassault Aviation.

This will pave the way for the French company to set up its Rafale fighter aircraft servicing centre.

Deepak Kapoor, MADC managing director, told a leading newspaper, “We have finalised the draft of the pact today (Tuesday). After the pact is signed, DRAL will pay some premium to us to qualify for sub-leasing part of their land in MIHAN to Dassault Aviation. The French company is expected to come up with its Rafale fighter aircraft servicing centre in the next one to one-and-a-half years.”

Kapoor, who took over as the MD of MADC said, “My focus will be to achieve the original goal of MIHAN, which is bringing up an aviation hub in Nagpur. Just two days ago, Indamer Aviation Private Limited made its maintenance, repair and overall (MRO) unit operational on a 24-acre plot in MIHAN SEZ beginning with servicing of a Spicejet aircraft.”

Kapoor added the new MRO is situated close to Air India’s MRO, set up a few years ago under an agreement with Boeing as part of the deal to buy passenger aircraft from the aviation giant.

A simulator-based pilot training and aircraft maintenance facility is being set up by a new entrant in the aviation sector, Kalpana Aviation, on a one-acre plot Kapoor said.

He said, “Along with aviation, focus will be to develop MIHAN as an IT as well as a health hub. Recently, a major IT company called Persistent Systems purchased a 15-acre plot in MIHAN, where it soon plans to start a big unit.”

MIHAN already has some major IT companies like TCS, Tech Mahindra and HCL along with several small companies. Infosys has also started constructing its Nagpur unit in MIHAN.