Hyderabad, Oct 15 : Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today opened the country''s first International Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation "India Aviation 2008" here today.

Inaugurating the exhibition at the Begumpet Airport here, Patel said India would need an investment of 200-300 million dollars in the next 10-15 years in the entire spectrum of the aviation sector, including procurement of planes and airport infrastructure.

''''Once aviation recovers in the world sector, India will be counted among the top 3-4 aviation countries in years to come,'''' he added.

He also said that some issues needed immediate attention with jet fuel prices being the primary one.

''''We want to participate in business worldwide and so the business aviation needed to be explored,'''' he added.

The four-day event is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the FICCI, with the United States being the partner country.

A new Airbus-319 will be inducted to Air India fleet, coinciding with the closure of inaugural function while another highlight will be arrival of the largest passenger aircraft in the world, Airbus A-380 from France.

The event will provide a platform to forge new partnerships between global and domestic companies.

As many as 35 CEOs from major aviation companies are participating in the civil aviation exhibition. (ANI)