Yunus Dar

It has been a significant run for the French-based Safran at the Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru. To start with, the company’s chief executive officer Philippe Petitcolin and chief minister of Telangana K. Chandrashekar Rao announced that Safran Aircraft Engines would build a new plant in Hyderabad to make parts for the LEAP turbofan engine from CFM International.

Safran’s LEAP engine

Supported by the Telangana state, Safran will invest 36 million euros in this new plant, which will cover 13,000 square metres (140,400 sq. ft.), including 8,000 square metres (86,400 sq. ft.) of workshops, in the Special Economic Zone of GMR near the airport. The construction is set to kick off in June 2019 and will aim at building and producing the first parts in early 2020.

The plant will have about 50 employees by the end of the year to launch operations and will reach a workforce of 300. Safran has chosen the GMR Hyderabad Aviation SEZ Limited (GHASL) to base its plant to manufacture aircraft engines parts for LEAP turbofan engine.

“We’re delighted to open a new chapter in our long history with the Indian aerospace industry, thus reasserting Safran’s commitment to our ‘Make in India’ strategy,” said Philippe Petitcolin. “Aerospace continues to be a significant driver of India’s growth, and we want to fully support this dynamic by bolstering our investments and training programmes in the country,” he added.

The Telangana chief minister also expressed his happiness with the development, he said, “we are delighted that Safran has selected Hyderabad to establish its Safran Aircraft