Boeing has expanded its engineering and technology centre in the Indian city of Bengaluru in a bid to drive aerospace innovation.

The new phase of the Boeing India Engineering and Technology Centre (BIETC) will nearly double the area of the facility to accommodate additional employees, reported news agency PTI.

The centre was opened early last year with approximately 100 employees, which has now been increased to more than 1,000.

BIETC aims to expand its team to more than 2,500 employees in engineering, IT, and research and development sectors to enhance aerospace technology innovation.

“The company has also partnered with multiple industrial and vocational institutes to provide training to workers within the Indian aviation sector.”

The centre will feature an integrated lab for IoT, analytics and mobility, a systems integration lab, a 3DX lab to develop 3D experiences, as well as a proof of concepts lab.

There will be more than 25 collaboration areas within BIETC to facilitate joint team efforts.

In addition to working on digital aviation, the centre will work to offer laboratory and flight testing support for aircraft.

The company has also partnered with multiple industrial and vocational institutes to provide training to workers within the Indian aviation sector.

Boeing India president Pratyush Kumar was quoted by the news agency as saying: “The new centre reflects an agile and driven Boeing in India, one that inspires people to collaborate and accelerate step-change innovation.”

Boeing recently partnered with Air India Engineering Services to introduce an accelerated apprenticeship programme to provide training and enhance the expertise of aircraft maintenance engineers in India.