Chennai, Jan 18 (PTI) Chief Minister K Palaniswami todayurged the Centre to consider setting up manufacturing andmaintenance facilities for aircraft and helicopters in TamilNadu.
Referring to the recent remarks made by Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman in Coimbatore appealing micro, small andmedium enterprises to take up projects for the armed forces,Palaniswami said: "The state government will readily supportsuch moves".
"I request the defence minister to consider establishinga manufacturing facility by HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd)for light combact aircrafts and helicopters in Tamil Nadu inany suitable location", he said at the Defence IndustryDevelopment Meet inaugurated by Sitharaman in Chennai today.
The chief minister suggested that Salem district may beconsidered for setting up the unit as it was centrally locatedand a "large land bank" was available there.
Palaniswami also urged Sitharaman to consider setting upa military MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) base inSulur Air Force Station in Coimbatore.
Stating that there were more than 120 aerospacecomponents manufacturing companies and more than 700 suppliersoperating in Tamil Nadu, he said the state government was inthe process of coming out with an "exclusive aerospace anddefence policy".
The policy would come with an objective of achieving 30per cent share of the aerospace sector in India and creatingemployment opportunities for around 1 lakh people in thestate, he said.
He said the setting up of an aerospace park atSriperumbudur near Chennai was one such initiative by thegovernment.
The park was being set up over a 250-acre land and couldbe expanded to 500 acres in the second phase, he said.
"This park will house at least 50 aerospace or defencecompanies forming a strong base for supporting large OEMsoriginal equipment manufacturers)," he said.
Noting that the area of aircraft MRO activities wereimportant, he said the government was focusing on establishingan "MRO complex" in Chennai.
"We welcome and encourage MRO operators to set up theirshop in any part of Tamil Nadu," he said.
On the proposed Advanced Computing and Design EngineeringCentre coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 180 crore inSriperumbudur, he said the government was also setting up amulti-floor manufacturing complex at the Chennai Aerospace andDefence Park. PTI VIJABH.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.
