Adani and Embraer finalise Dholera for regional aircraft assembly line

Adani Group and Brazil’s Embraer have picked the Dholera Special Investment Region in Gujarat as the site for a final assembly line for Embraer’s regional jets — building on a January MoU to advance India’s Regional Transport Aircraft programme.

Adani Group and Brazilian aerospace major Embraer have finalised Dholera in Gujarat as the site for setting up a final assembly line (FAL) for Embraer's regional jets, according to sources. The decision marks a concrete step forward from the strategic partnership the two announced earlier this year, and adds aerospace manufacturing to the growing industrial roster of the Dholera Special Investment Region.

Adani Defence & Aerospace and Embraer signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for strategic collaboration on regional transport aircraft in India in January this year. Embraer, which opened its India office in the national capital in October last year, is betting big on the Indian market — targeting opportunities across both civilian and defence aircraft.

Why Dholera

Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), near Ahmedabad, is being developed as a planned greenfield industrial smart city — making it a natural fit for a from-scratch aerospace facility. Sources said Dholera has been finalised as the site for the FAL for the Embraer jets, though specific details, including possible aircraft orders, could not be ascertained. Adani Group and Embraer did not offer any comment.

Setting up a final assembly line in-country is a key milestone in localising aircraft manufacturing. In January, Adani Defence & Aerospace said the partnership would aim to establish the assembly line, followed by a phased increase in indigenisation, to advance India's Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) programme in alignment with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative and the UDAN regional connectivity vision. UDAN, the government's regional air connectivity scheme, has now been operational for ten years.

Airline orders the missing piece

For all the momentum, the line still hinges on demand. Asked about progress on site selection and aircraft orders, Embraer Commercial Aviation CEO Arjan Meijer said last week that teams were working on it, but stressed that customer commitments come first.

"We need to get the commitments from the airlines because there's no need to set up a line if there are no airline orders in parallel," he said, adding that India is a complex market from a revenue perspective.

Speaking at the company's headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil, Meijer was nonetheless bullish on the long-term opportunity. "India is the biggest market around the world, with well over a billion people, with a travel propensity which is very low. So we think that the potential of India is just amazing," he said.

Embraer is looking to strengthen its presence across India's commercial aviation, defence, business aviation, services and support, and urban air mobility segments. Its E-Jets began operations in India in 2005, and the company now has nearly 50 aircraft in the country serving the Indian Air Force, government agencies, business jet operators and commercial airline Star Air.

Source: Fortune India.