Mumbai, June 14 -- A helicopter manufacturing plant with an investment of around Rs.8,000 crore is set to come up in Nagpur soon with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Max Aerospace & Aviation Private Limited and the state industries department on Friday. The MoU was signed between P Anbalagan, industries secretary and Bharat Malkani, chairman of Max Aerospace in presence of chief minister and other senior officials. According to the MoU, Max Aerospace will set up the helicopter manufacturing plant in Nagpur, with actual operations expected to commence from 2026. The project is expected to generate around 2,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities with an investment of around Rs.8,000 crore over the next eight years. This will be Maharashtra's first dedicated project for customisation and full-scale production of helicopters. With this initiative, Maharashtra will emerge as an important center for aerospace manufacturing. The project will function as a Center of Excellence for customisation, integration, and flight testing of rotary-wing platforms. As the center will be located near Nagpur airport, it will benefit from the existing infrastructure and logistic support. This will also contribute to India's growing aerospace supply chain. Speaking at the occasion, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed happiness that Max Aerospace selected Maharashtra and particularly Nagpur. "The state government will be a partner in the journey of Max Aerospace. Adequate facilities for defense manufacturing have been developed in Nagpur. The state government will provide all necessary support for setting up the manufacturing plant, and the company should also commence operations as scheduled," the chief minister stated. Malkani also said that Nagpur offers a complete ecosystem for defense manufacturing, with all necessary facilities being provided by the state government. "I will make all the efforts to take Maharashtra forward in the helicopter manufacturing sector," he added....