Two aerospace projects — Aeronautical Material Testing Laboratory (AMTL) at Athani in Thrissur district and Aerospace Park at Kadinamkulam here — will be showcased at the forthcoming Emerging Kerala meet commencing in Kochi from September 12.
These projects figure under the category Airport/Infrastructure and Aeroplane/Helicopter Services. The profiles of the two projects have been finalised.
The AMTL has been proposed by Steel and Industrial Forgings Ltd. (SIFL), an ISO 9001:2008 certified public sector undertaking. SIFL had forged ahead to become masters in titanium and special alloy forgings.
The Aerospace Park has been featured by the District Industries Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
The Aerospace Park has been proposed taking into account the precision component manufacturers in adjoining Veli industrial belt who are suppliers to ISRO and Brahmos. The area identified for setting up the aerospace park is close to Kinfra and Veli industrial estates, VSSC, Brahmos, and Maintenance Overhaul Facility (MRO) of Air India.
The project profile prepared for the aerospace park says it can be developed in the public private partnership (PPP) model with land on lease by the government. It has also been suggested that industrial bodies/associations can be partnered for the project.
The AMTL has been proposed as part of the plan to leapfrog the SIFL into the lucrative and exclusive aerospace sector. It has been pointed out that such advanced facilities are available only at VSSC and DRDC and these are mainly used for in-house testing.
Establishment of ATML in Thrissur would make SIFL a one-stop station for aerospace forgings and also give a fillip to the much-needed R&D activity.
Besides attracting companies like Jaguar, Boeing/Airbus, the ATML will also be able to train aeronautical engineering students from institutes inside and outside the country.
It has been pointed out 9.58 hectares of land is available for setting up the laboratory. The plant and machinery is estimated to cost Rs.65 crore and a manpower of 60 is needed for the laboratory.
