GMR Hyderabad International Ltd (GHIAL) has signed its first client for its free trade zone at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here.
Turbo Jet Engines (Hyd) Pvt Ltd has signed the agreement with the airport operator to set up a unit at the free trade zone, which is India’s first airport-based commercial zone.
As per the agreement, Turbo Jet, in technical partnership with an established foreign partner, will set up a repair, testing and calibration facility for various aircraft components such as life rafts, wheels and brakes, oxygen cylinders, fire bottles, actuators and avionics equipment.
The operations would also encompass repair and calibration of aircraft parts — original equipment manufacturers and airlines can send equipment from any part of the world to Turbo’s facility for testing and repair.
This facility will derive synergies from the world-class aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul firms located in the vicinity of the airport, besides supporting air cargo stakeholders such as airlines and logistics players, thus creating an integrated ecosystem.
SGK Kishore, Chief Executive Officer of GHIAL, said: “The free trade zone is envisioned to fuel the growth of a strong airport-driven economy and provide compelling value proposition by offering modern and integrated ecosystem that will bring down the transportation costs and reduce the turnaround time for movement of goods. The FTZ will also provide facilities for servicing, distribution, trading, warehousing of goods and other value additions.”
This development is also expected to complement air cargo growth and boost product diversification at the airport.
The airport has been designed with an initial capacity of 12 million passengers and 1.5 lakh tonnes of cargo handling capacity, with a flexibility to scale up to 40 million passengers. Last fiscal, it registered about 8.6 million passengers.