NT NETWORK
MARGAO
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Friday said Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will join hands with Goa Auto Accessories Limited (GAAL), a unit of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), to start a joint venture of repairing helicopters and fighter plane engines in Goa, and will produce the airworthiness certificates from Goa for the Defence Ministry.
Speaking to the media after distributing LED bulbs free of cost to the power consumers of argao at Pajifond, the Defence Minister said that a letter of intent has been submitted to Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for signing a shipbuilding contract worth Rs 32,500 crore to build 12 minesweepers in ten years.
Parrikar, who spoke on the occasion for almost 50 minutes on issues like the LPG scam, coal gate, power thefts besides the various raw deals in the Defence Ministry during the earlier Congress-led government at the Centre, said that these two major contractors and the ‘Make in India’ concept would create around 7,000 to 8,000 jobs in the state.
“Within this year itself, we will be getting six new planes. And by next year, another 16 from HAL. The government has given HAL orders for manufacturing 120 planes worth Rs 45,000 crore by laying stress on indigenously-built products. Fifty-five per cent of the parts will be produced in India,” Parrikar said.
Elaborating on the repairs unit to be based in Goa, Parrikar said, “Normal life of a fighter plane is between 600 hours to 1,500 hours. The old engines will be repaired in Goa by HAL and then the airworthiness certificates will be produced after proper checks. Some foreign parts may be brought, but most of the engine parts will be made in India.” He said that initially HAL would take up repairs of around 1,000 engines per year and in the subsequent years, it would double the number of engines to be repaired.
The former chief minister of Goa said that a letter of intent has been signed and submitted to the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and a contract worth Rs 32,500 crore has been given to GSL to manufacture 12 minesweepers within the next ten years. “These ships have to be built with the maximum number of India-made parts. GSL is in touch with a South Korean company to get the technical support,” he said.
Stating that Goa would witness a turnover of Rs 8,000 crore in the next 15 to 20 years, Parrikar, however, replied in the negative when asked whether the Defence Ministry would go ahead with the construction of Betul port.