-CB Adhikari
The government is preparing to establish a MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) company related to the aviation industry in the country.
This information was shared during a meeting held on Monday (July 6) in the capital by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
“Currently, Nepali airline companies are sending millions of rupees to foreign countries for the purpose of maintaining, repairing and overhauling their aircraft. So, if a MRO company is operated in Nepal itself under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, it will save such huge amount of money from flowing outside the country,” Minister for Tourism Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai argued in the meeting.
According to him, the saved financial resources could well be leveraged for bolstering the Nepali civil aviation industry.
It is estimated that the state-run Nepal Airlines Corporation alone spends more than $400,000 annually for MRO while the private airlines supposedly spend $1.5 million to $2 million in total.
Speaking during the meet, other related experts said that establishing the MRO company is simply a viable proposition for the growth of the Nepali airline industry. They also urged the government to materialise this proposition at the soonest by developing necessary human resources and infrastructure. As far as the needed manpower of the proposed MRO company goes, the ministry looks to employ Nepalis at first and then gradually foreigners. RSS
