Airbus Group has announced its intentions to shift its entire manufacturing of Panther military helicopters to India and is looking at Dholera and Mundra as potential destinations for setting up its manufacturing base. Company vice president, Industrial Development (Strategic partnerships and offsets) Ashish Saraf said, “We have proposed to shift our entire line of Panther helicopters manufacturing to India. Dholera is one of the potential destinations for us to set up our manufacturing facility. Mundra could also be one of them in Gujarat.”
Other states under the French company's radar are Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Talking about Dholera to establish a production facility, Saraf said, “The main reason is its proximity to the ocean. There is a standard selection process and criteria based on which we will finalise a location.”
Union minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha was positive about the investment in DSIR too. He said, “Dholera is ideally situated as far as the major cities of Gujarat are concerned. Airbus is going to build up a manufacturing base in the region. I have been pushing Airbus to visit Dholera and explore how they can place some of their manufacturing facilities, particularly with regards to their defence manufacturing.”
