By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, Nov 1 (IANS): The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) and the Bangalore-based Subramanya Construction and Development Company (SCDC) Monday signed a joint venture agreement to set up the world's first integrated aviation university and training campus in the Karnataka capital.
The Sydney-based CAPA, a globally recognised provider of industry research and analysis, and SCDC will invest $125 million to develop CAPA AeroPark on a 50-acre site in Bangalore by 2012.
The fully developed campus will have state-of-the-art academic facilities together with full flight simulators, a flying school, engineering workshops and laboratories, research centres, accommodation for students and faculty, recreational facilities, a hotel and convention centre.
The university would have satellite academies in Delhi and Mumbai for airline and airport management, pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, cabin crew and regulators.
"This facility is in response to a felt need for trained aviation personnel in India given the rapid growth that is envisaged in India's aviation industry over the next few years. It further enhances the growing Australia-India trade and investment relations," Consul General of India in Sydney Amit Dasgupta told IANS.
India has been one of the fastest growing aviation markets with demand for skilled personnel expected to triple over the next decade. Even conservative projections estimate India will emerge as the third largest aviation market in the world in the next 12-15 years.
"There is an emerging global shortage of skilled human resources in the industry, which is particularly acute in rapidly emerging markets such as India and neighbouring regions. The aviation industries in India and the Gulf alone are expected to see investment in excess of $200 billion over the next decade and availability of skills is critical to support this," said CAPA Group Executive Chairman Peter Harbison.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Asia Pacific region now has training capacity to meet only 35 percent of its annual requirement of almost 14,000 pilots- an annual shortfall of 9,000.
The CAPA AeroPark Masterplan has been developed after consultations with airlines, airports, governments, universities and aviation training providers from around the world, and on-the-ground study of currently available training infrastructure in India.
SCDC Group Chairman K.N.Balasubramanyam said: "This facility will be vital for developing a professional, sustainable and safe aviation industry and will help position India as a globally competitive aviation and aerospace hub."
This is SCDC's first foray into the education sector.
Bangalore has been chosen as the location for the campus because it is the country's aerospace hub, home to Hindustan Aeronautics, the nation's leading aerospace company, and the Airbus Engineering and Design Centre, Boeing's Research and Technology Centre, besides several national research institutes and companies involved in aviation technology, design, maintenance and manufacturing.