GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd., (GHIAL), has signed an agreement with aircraft engine manufacturer, CFM International (CFM), to establish a new CFM56 maintenance training center to support its customers in the South Asian region. CFM International is a 50/50 joint venture between Snecma (SAFRAN Group) of France and General Electric Company (GE) of the US.

The training centre, which will commence operations by late January 2010, will be located in the GMR Aerospace Park, being developed in the exclusive 250 acre aviation SEZ, that forms part of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport complex. GHIAL will build the facility and lease it to CFM.

“This is a significant milestone in our plans to develop the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport as a preferred hub for Maintenance, Repair and Overhauling (MRO) facility in South Asia,” said P. Sripathy, CEO of GHIAL.

“This facility signals the beginning of our plans to create a one-stop aviation support cluster of international standards in Hyderabad. We have two SEZs of 250 acres each, and our plan is to bring here in India, all aviation and avionics related activities which are currently outsourced overseas,” Sripathy added.

Paul-Andre Chevrin, CFM International VP for India said the new training centre will mirror CFM facilities currently operating in France, the US and China, and will initially provide advanced courses in line maintenance and inspection of CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B engines, which power the majority of Airbus A320 family aircraft and all Boeing 737s. Once the facility is fully operational, it will be capable of training up to 500 engineers each year.