Adani Group and Brazilian aerospace giant Embraer have finalized Dholera, Gujarat as the location for a new final assembly line for commercial regional jets.
This development is a massive step for India’s domestic aviation manufacturing, marking Adani’s first real foray into building commercial passenger aircraft.
The Location, The plant will be built in the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) near Ahmedabad — an “ultra-mega” greenfield industrial smart city that offers the scale needed for aerospace manufacturing.
Strategic Goals, The assembly line is the centerpiece of a larger effort to support India’s Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) program. It directly aligns with the government’s UDAN scheme, which aims to make air travel accessible and improve connectivity for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
The Catch, While the site has been chosen, Embraer’s Commercial Aviation CEO, Arjan Meijer, has clarified that standing up the physical assembly line depends heavily on first securing firm aircraft orders from domestic airlines.
Beyond Assembly, The broader partnership between the two companies aims to build out a full aviation ecosystem in India, which includes localizing the supply chain, establishing Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services, and creating pilot training platforms.
January 2026, Adani Defence & Aerospace and Embraer signed the initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop India’s regional aviation ecosystem.
June 2026, Dholera is officially selected as the manufacturing hub, transitioning the MoU into actionable infrastructure planning.
Embraer’s defense bids, You might also see recent news about Embraer pitching its KC-390 Millennium military transport aircraft to the Indian Air Force. It’s worth noting that Embraer partnered with the Mahindra Group for that specific defense bid, keeping the Adani partnership squarely focused on the commercial and regional transit side.