New Delhi: India’s first final assembly line (FAL) for commercial fixed-wing aircraft is likely to come up either at Dholera in Gujarat or Bhogapuram in Andhra Pradesh, with Dholera currently emerging as the frontrunner.

The facility will be set up through a joint venture between Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer and the Adani Group, with both states aggressively vying for the project under their aerospace expansion plans. The Centre is also considering fiscal incentives for airlines placing orders for made-in-India aircraft.

A formal announcement on the Adani–Embraer joint venture is expected next Tuesday, which may also clarify the final location of the assembly line. Both companies declined to comment on site selection.

Industry estimates, drawing parallels with the Airbus–Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) C295 assembly line in Vadodara, suggest the Embraer FAL could take three to four years to become operational, followed by another year to roll out the first aircraft. Embraer manufactures regional jets with seating capacity ranging from 70 to 130 passengers.

India had signed a deal in September 2021 to acquire 56 C295 aircraft, under which 16 were imported from Spain and the remaining are being built domestically. The Vadodara facility, inaugurated in October 2024, is expected to roll out the first made-in-India C295 by September this year — nearly five years after the agreement. A similar timeline is projected for the Embraer programme.

A commercial fixed-wing aircraft assembly line would mark a major milestone for the government’s Make in India push in aviation and could pave the way for a full manufacturing ecosystem, potentially encouraging Airbus and Boeing to establish assembly facilities in the country.

With strong economic multiplier benefits, both Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are positioning themselves as aerospace hubs. Gujarat aims to create an aerospace corridor by adding Dholeramlocated about 151 km from Vadodara’s existing FAL, while Bhogapuram is being developed around a new international airport near Visakhapatnam.

Dholera is being developed as an aviation hub by the Dholera International Airport Company Limited, a joint venture of the Airports Authority of India and the Gujarat government, featuring two parallel runways and allied aviation infrastructure.

Bhogapuram, developed by the GMR Group, will include a 500-acre aerospace park designed to attract global aerospace and defence manufacturers, MRO facilities, OEMs and R&D units. DeshGujarat