Executives from Lufthansa Technik, airlines and the government broke ground on November 13 for an Airbus A320 maintenance, repair and overhaul facility Lufthansa Technik is building in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

The new 215,000-sq-ft hangar at Rafael Hernández International Airport will have five overhaul lines. It will initially operate two lines for A320 C- and D-checks. The first layover is due to take place next year. The new Lufthansa Technik Puerto Rico operation is training 50 workers currently and expects to employ 400 workers by 2016.

Next year, Lufthansa Technik will begin training mechanics at a new Aerospace and Aviation Institute of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla to support the facility.

Miramar, Fla.-based low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines will be the MRO facility’s first customer in July 2015. “Spirit’s continued relationship with Lufthansa Technik is vital to our commitment to provide our customers with the lowest possible airfares in the industry,” Charles Rue, Spirit’s vice president of supply chain, said in a statement accompanying the groundbreaking announcement.

Along with Rue, Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla; Judy Reinke, deputy director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service with the U.S. Department of Commerce; Lufthansa Technik chief executive of products, services and IT Thomas Stüger; Lufthansa Technik Puerto Rico CEO Elmar Lutter; and JetBlue senior vice president of operations Jeffrey Martin were among participants at the groundbreaking.  

“Puerto Rico’s partnership with Lufthansa Technik represents the cornerstone of the aviation industry my administration is developing,” Padilla said. “Lufthansa’s investment elevates the island’s presence in the aerospace industry and helps create highly skilled jobs in a fast-growing sector of the world economy.”