Karnataka - Bangalore

Joint venture for aerial mapping

BANGALORE: The helicopter charter firm, Deccan Aviation, will soon enter into a joint venture with a Bangalore-based French company to offer aerial mapping solutions for rail, road, underground pipe-laying and other utilities. The two firms will then jointly bid for projects, Deccan Aviation Executive Chairman Capt. G.R. Gopinath said here on Wednesday.

While Deccan Aviation will provide the helicopters for aerial mapping, the French firm will offer the technology. The French company has a business process outsourcing (BPO) unit in Bangalore with 40 employees, developing maps for Europe.

“India lacks good three-dimensional maps. To lay railway tracks and roads, we still rely on two-dimensional maps,” Capt. Gopinath said. With privatisation, the mining industry offered opportunities for geo-physical surveys which required helicopters. “All our pilots are trained for such activities. The new mining policy will enable several global firms to come here,” he said. About fleet expansion, Capt. Gopinath said his company would place orders for more choppers. Asked if he would buy the Advanced Light Helicopter, Dhruv, produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), he said HAL had to first prove its global competitiveness. “Right now, they are catering only to the Defence industry. About 90 per cent of the revenue for Brazil’s Embraer aircraft comes from exports, and not the domestic market,” he said.

Capt. Gopinath said the process of making Deccan Aviation and Air Deccan as two entities was under way. While Air Deccan would concentrate on civil aviation, Deccan Aviation would be exclusively into helicopter charter service for various operations. The Board of Directors had to clear the division. The process had begun, he said.

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