(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 20 JUN - The German engine manufacturer and maintenance provider MTU Aero Engines has announced that it has chosen the town of Nova Pazova, in Serbia, as the location for a new repair facility.

Nova Pazova is located approximately 25 kilometers from the Belgrade international airport.

The company said in a statement that the new repair shop will have a capacity of approximately 400,000 annual repair hours and is expected to be operational by 2022.

"Setting up this new site is part of MTU's global growth story," said Michael Schreyögg, the company's Chief Program Officer, underlying that maintenance, repair and overhaul for commercial aircraft engines is a business that "will further ramp up in the years to come." "MTU Aero Engines is our partner of choice in forming the nucleus of the future aerospace industry in Serbia," Serbian prime minister Ana Brnabic said, quoted in a MTU statement. Last May, the Serbian government and the German company signed a a memorandum of understanding that paved the way for the investment in the new plant near Belgrade. The German manufacturer has around 10,000 employees and operates in 15 countries worldwide. (ANSA).