Finally, the dream of getting a missile integration plant set up at the BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) is reaching fruition.
If things go as planned, the plant will be inaugurated at Chakkai near here next month, giving a boost to the five-year-old subsidiary unit of the Indo- Russian joint missile project.
The inaugural date has been tentatively fixed as September 10, depending on the schedule of Defence Minister A K Antony, BATL officials said.
A building for the integration plant has been set up on an approximately five-acre plot provided by the Southern Air Command (SAC) next to the BATL property.
The project, for which the foundation stone was laid in February 2011, had been delayed owing to non-availability of land.
Recently, the IAF handed over a portion of land under its Signals Unit in exchange of State Government land at Muttathara.
Efforts to spot 50 acres of additional land in Thiruvananthapuram district have not succeeded.
BATL officials had checked out land at Kazhakootam, Thonnackal and Vithura, but nothing came of it.
BATL had explored the possibility of acquiring land on the Sainik School campus at Kazhakootam and the Jersey farm at Vithura. But both plans were dropped owing to various reasons.