The Indian aviation market will need 1,043 new planes worth around $145 billion by 2030, European plane maker Airbus SAS said Thursday.
"According to Airbus' latest market forecast, Indian carriers will require 1,020 new passenger [planes] and 23 freighter aircraft valued at $145 billion between now and 2030 to satisfy surging annual demand," the company said in a news release.
The forecast is slightly higher than one that Airbus made a year ago.
India's aircraft market is currently ranked fourth worldwide, both in terms of the number of planes and value, Airbus said. Passenger traffic in India is growing by 7.2% annually, well above the average rate of 5.9% for the Asia/Pacific region and the global average of 4.8%.
"Growing urbanization and population concentrations combined with a growing middle class and dynamic economic growth are driving demand, and this trend is expected to continue," the company noted.
Airbus has ties to India that go back almost 40 years. In 2006, the company set up the Airbus Engineering Centre India in Bangalore, where around 250 engineers work on analysis and the development of new products.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
