Avianor has broken ground on a new $70-million aircraft maintenance facility at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport.

Groupe Mach will serve as the real estate partner in the 105,000-square-foot A220 Centre of Excellence project, which is slated to be completed in fall 2024. Montreal-based Avianor will service Airbus A220 planes owned and operated by Air Canada and, possibly in the future, other airlines.

The Quebec government provided a $9-million loan for the project. The new centre of excellence is being built next to an existing Avianor maintenance facility.

Avianor said in June that the new centre will give the company four additional maintenance lines to accommodate the A220 aircraft and, potentially, other types of narrow-body aircraft programs, for a total of seven maintenance lines in service.

“Without a doubt, it will be the ideal place to welcome A220s from all over the world,” said Hugo Brouillard, Avianor’s vice-president and chief operating officer, in a news release.

Avianor said in June that the facility will create more than 100 specialized maintenance jobs. The company is owned by Montreal-based global outsourcing firm Drakkar Aerospace and Ground Transportation.,