French aerospace giant Safran to set up largest aircraft engine MRO facility at GMR aerospace park

HYDERABAD: One of French aerospace giant Safran’s largest aircraft engines MRO (maintenance, repair & overhaul) facilities are all set to come up in Hyderabad.
The facility, which will be spread over 23.5 acres with a built-up area of 36,500 sq ft, will come up at the SEZ area of GMR Aerospace & Industrial Park with a capacity to service 300 engines per annum by 2035, GMR Group said on Monday.
While construction work on the facility is expected to commence in September this year, the MRO facility is expected to be handed over in December 2024 and operations are slated to kick off in 2025 with about 1000 jobs to be created at peak operation capacity.GMR Hyderabad Aviation SEZ Limited (GHASL), a 100% subsidiary of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), has already inked a land lease agreement with Safran Aircraft Engines Services India Pvt Ltd (SAESIPL) for building and operating engine MRO facilities for Safran’s LEAP turbofan engines.
GMR Airport Land Development CEO Aman Kapoor said Safran zeroed in on the GMR Aerospace & Industrial Park after a thorough global assessment. “Safran has entered a lease agreement to set up one of the largest engine MROs in the world. The facility will initially have the capacity to service 100 engines per annum, which will gradually increase to around 300 engines per annum by 2035,” he added.
Safran Aircraft Engines vice president of support & services Nicolas Potier said the MRO project was a significant investment in Safran’s future in India and would bring additional key capacity to support operations of its airlines customers.
Safran already operates two industrial facilities for cable harnessing and aircraft engine component manufacturing in the GMR Aerospace & Industrial Park’s SEZ area, even as a Safran-GE joint venture, CFM, operates an engine maintenance training facility at the park.