The new facility’s capacity will allow for up to seven aircraft to be serviced simultaneously and mean that Aeromexico will close its maintenance base in Guadalajara.
Aeromexico had tried to expand its hangar at the Guadalajara Airport but faced insurmountable problems over the legal title to ejido (communal farm) lands surrounding the facility.According to Bloomberg News, the two airlines will invest around 50 million dollars in the center. Delta Air Lines acquired a 4.17 percent stake in Grupo Aeromexico in June.
Queretero is fast becoming a major hub for aerospace activity. Companies already set up in the city’s Aerospace Park include Bombardier, General Electric, Safran and Eurocopter.
On Wednesday, President Felipe Calderon was on hand to announce German car giant Audi’s first Latin American manufacturing plant, to be built in the municipality of San Josa Chiapa, Puebla at a cost of 1.3 billion dollars. Again, the state of Jalisco was a strong contender to get the investment but Puebla’s location close to Veracruz – and thus European markets – made it a more favorable option.
The plant will employ 10,000 people when completed in 2016. Some 150,000 Audi Q5s are expected to roll off its production lines each year.