=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2006/12/07/financial/= f014050S27.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, December 7, 2006 (AP) Airbus to Invest $1 Billion in India (12-07) 04:06 PST NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- Airbus on Thursday said it plans to invest some $1 billion in India, setting up an engineering facility and a pilot training school. The European airplane maker had committed to investing in India as part = of a deal with the government, which is purchasing 43 Airbus aircraft for the state-run Indian Airlines in a deal valued at $2.25 billion. However, Airbus plans to double the $500 million required under that agreement, Kiran Rao, Airbus' executive vice president of marketing told a news conference. Some $300 million is to be invested in a pilot training center and anoth= er $250 million in an engineering center, both in the southern city of Bangalore. Airbus also released a study predicting a huge growth in the Indian airline industry, saying that the country will need 1,100 airplanes worth $105 billion by 2025. -----------------------------------------------------= ----------------- Copyright 2006 AP