The schedule of Boeing's long-delayed MRO facility in the central
Indian city of Nagpur has again been pushed back.
Construction of the $100
million facility will be completed by the first quarter of 2013, Dinesh Keskar,
Boeing Commercial Airplanes' senior vice-president Asia-Pacific and India
Sales, tells Flightglobal.
Operations are then expected
to start in the second quarter of 2013, he adds.
An official from the
Maharasthra Airport Development Company, which owns the land, had told
Flightglobal in March that the construction is due to be completed by November,
with operations to begin on 12 December.
The MRO facility, located
adjacent to the city's Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, was mooted
as part of Air India's 2006 order for 68 Boeing aircraft. Once completed, it
will be handed over to flag carrier Air India, which will run the facility.
Construction of the facility,
which will be able to accommodate two widebodies or six narrowbodies simultaneously,
only started in January 2011 after several delays.
"There will also be
components and support shops in the same area, so this MRO is going to be a
very important centre to have," says Keskar.
Once completed, Air India
plans to service its aircraft and also offer third party MRO work at the
facility.
