Apart from providing the platform for the industry stake holders to interact and collaborate, the India Aviation 2016 seems to have benefited the host state Telangana in a big way.

One of the spin off benefit was the concrete proposal from France based aircraft manufacturer Airbus for a big ticket investment in Hyderabad.

On the sidelines of the event, which was concluding on Friday, the French company formally submitted a proposal to set up a plant in Hyderabad with a massive investment of Rs2500 crore to manufacture helicopters.

The company has sought allocation of 16 hectares of land near the Shamshabad International Airport for setting up the facility where it proposes to manufacture both Navy and utility helicopters. Airbus officials said that they want land in area with developed infrastructure facility and free of pollution and traffic problems. The other facilities sought by them include a dedicate electric sub station to ensure uninterrupted power supply, a fire station to deal with any emergency and transport facility for its workers.

According to the proposal, the plant will have a capacity to build 200 choppers per annum and provide direct employment for 4,500 people apart from giving a push to more than 30 ancillary industries generating another thousand direct and indirect employment.

Officials of Telangana government and the Airbus company had an initial discussion on this idea during “Make in India” event at Mumbai last month and the state industries department officials had invited the Airbus officials to visit Hyderabad and have a look at the facilities available to them at the Aerospace hub at Adibatla in the city outskirts.

Detailed proposal

During a meeting on the sidelines of Indian Aviation 2016, Airbus officials submitted their detailed proposal listing out the facilities including land required for the project to the state Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma.

According to the sources Airbus was planning to set up the plant in Hyderabad in collaboration either with Tata or Mahindra, both Indian corporates who were already involved in the aerospace industry.

Airbus officials told the Telangana government that there was a big market for Navy helicopters in India and they intend to produce them within the country.

At the same time Airbus was planning to set up a MRO or maintenance, repair and overhauling hub for the helicopters in the city.

Telangana government officials on their part have assured the Airbus officials that all the three civil aviation parks at Adibatla, Nadargul and Eleminedu fulfil their requirements and land was available to them at all the three places. The Airbus officials were told that the government was ready to allocate the land chosen by them at any of the three places. A final decision was expected after the Airbus officials undertake a survey of the three parks, sources said.