CANADA'S CAE AVIATION has signed a joint-venture agreement with the Pakistan air force's Shaheen Foundation to establish an aircraft-maintenance centre in Islamabad.
The centre is scheduled to be opened in November, initially offering routine maintenance of Lockheed Martin C-130 transports. The initial investment is $3-4 million and annual revenues of $70-100 million are forecast.
The maintenance base will be 63% owned by CAE and 37% by Shaheen. Its initial customer will be the Pakistan air force, which has been sending its C-130s overseas for maintenance. The partners have identified a regional market for work on some 200 C-130s, and also some 50 commercial aircraft operated in Pakistan and sent abroad for maintenance.
Source: Flight International