In the inauguration ceremony of Boeing's engineering center in Bengaluru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that India will not have to wait for too long for a Boeing aircraft that is designed and manufactured in the country. Modi assured that the wait for this significant development will not be prolonged.
Boeing's India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC) in Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka, stands as the aerospace company's largest facility beyond the borders of the United States. This center is dedicated to research and development activities.
The company said it had invested $200 million in the campus, which is spread across 43 acres, but did not provide details on the number of people the facility will employ. Boeing currently employs more than 6,000 people in India across its various centers. At the event, which was also attended by senior Boeing executives including Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Pope, Modi stressed the need to build an aircraft manufacturing ecosystem in India,Reuters reported.
Given that there is so much potential in India, we need to rapidly build an aircraft manufacturing ecosystem in the country, Modi said. Boeing has witnessed a surge in interest for its jets in India, currently the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, with travel demand outstripping the supply of planes.
Boeing has formed a strategic alliance with India's Tata Group to manufacture AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages and 737 aircraft vertical fin structures.