Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. said Wednesday it plans to spend $1.5 billion, including $350 million from the federal government, to develop lighter, more fuel-efficient gas-turbine engines.

The repayable Ottawa funding was announced by Public Works Minister Michael Fortier at the company's plant in the Montreal suburb of Longueuil.

The bulk of the research and development work will take place at plants in Longueuil and Mississauga, Ont.

Pratt & Whitney said the project is expected to generate more than 1,500 direct and indirect jobs at its facilities across Canada and among its network of suppliers.

"This strategic investment is the most important commitment made by [Pratt & Whitney Canada] in its history," said company president Alain Bellemare.

"This helps us to fight against our competitors, which are largely supported by their governments," he said at a news conference.

While the government investment is repayable, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said Canadians likely won't ever see the money repaid.

The federation called Pratt & Whitney a "corporate welfare deadbeat" that has yet to repay most of the money Ottawa has given it over the past 23 years.

"Given their paltry repayment record and omnipresence at the trough, giving Pratt & Whitney more of taxpayers’ money is like giving a pyromaniac a jerry can and pack of matches," said federation director John Williamson in a release.

"And as usual, it is Canadian taxpayers who will be burned," he said.