Brics challenge in the skies: Brazil's Embraer with the Adani Group for the first 'made in India' aircraft
The Indian conglomerate and the Brazilian company announced the signing of a memorandum to jointly produce the first civil aircraft ever made in the Asian country
From our correspondent
NEW DELHI - Confirming the growing scope for collaboration between the emerging countries of the Brics family, the Indian conglomerate headed by Gautam Adani and Brazil's Embraer have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to jointly produce the first civil aircraft ever made in the Asian country. The agreement, the value of which has not yet been quantified, aims to cover a wide range of activities, from aircraft manufacturing to pilot training, supply chains and after-sales services.
The agreement will allow the Brazilian company - which is the world's number three after Airbus and Boeing and specialises in private aircraft and short- and medium-haul regional jets - to preside more closely over what is now the world's third largest market in terms of number of passengers transported, where the two local giants, Air India and IndiGo, have been battling for years with expansion plans so aggressive that they have culminated in the two largest aircraft orders in the history of world civil aviation, 470 and 500 aircraft respectively. 'India is a crucial market for Embraer, and this partnership combines our aerospace expertise with Adani's solid industrial capabilities,' explained Arjan Meijer, managing director of the Brazilian civil aviation company, in a note. Confirming how central India is becoming in Embraer's strategies, the Brazilian company opened an office in New Delhi last October.
The collaboration will allow the group led by the controversial Indian tycoon Gautam Adani - which is already active in various sectors, from ports to cement, from media to energy - to enter a sector that until now it had only presided over in a sideways manner. Partly through the management of several airports, including the new ones in Noida and Navi Mumbai intended to relieve the pressure on Delhi and Mumbai airports; partly through the subsidiary Adani Defence & Aerospace.
An agreement to produce aircraft and aerospace components locally is also a strong boost to the ambitions of the administration led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a manufacturing hub, attracting foreign companies producing goods ranging from smartphones to commercial aircraft. A plan that has had mixed fortunes to date, but which has always received the support of Gautam Adani, who is considered the premier's closest businessman.
