MAHB Commits To Elevating M'sia As APAC's Preferred MRO Hub

LANGKAWI (Kedah, Malaysia) March 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is committed to elevating the country’s position as Asia Pacific’s (APAC) preferred maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hub through concerted developments at Subang Airport and KLIA Aeropolis. MAHB said it would strive to work with various aerospace specialist partners to meet this target. Group chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said the 24.28-hectare Subang Aerotech Park in Selangor is expected to attract over RM1 billion in investment, both locally and internationally, supporting over 5,000 jobs within the next five years. “We have already gained so much positive traction in attracting global top-tier players such as Spirit Aerosystems, which assembles final aerostructure components for Boeing and Airbus, and Senior Aerospace UPECA -- a manufacturer of finished components for Airbus, Boeing and Spirit Aero -- which will commence operations in the middle of the year,” he told reporters at a partnership signing ceremony at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace 2019 exhibition here Wednesday. MAHB has signed partnership agreements with two aerospace players, Boustead Projects Ltd and TP Aerospace Malaysia Sdn Bhd (TPAM), to propel the Subang Airport Regeneration Initiative. Also present at the signing were Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Selangor chief minister Amirudin Shari, MAHB chairman Zainun Ali, Boustead Projects executive director and deputy chairman Wong Yu Wei, and TPAM managing director and head of operations, APAC, Ng Seok Bee. Raja Azmi said France’s Dassault Aviation has also announced its vision to develop Subang Airport into its MRO hub serving the Asia region. In the same vein, he said the partnership agreements signed today would get MAHB well on track towards this ambition by building upon the success it already had at Subang Airport and KLIA. “Boustead Projects will help us provide excellent build-to-suit (BtS) facilities for aerospace players at the Subang Aerotech Park, and TPAM will help close the gap in the Subang Airport MRO value chain, namely in the MRO of aircraft wheels and brakes,” he said. MAHB has spent about RM40 million to develop common infrastructure in Subang Airport, such as electricity, roads, platform, water and sewerage treatment plant, water tank, and drainage and earthwork preparations. Meanwhile, the MAHB partnership agreement with Singapore-based industrial real estate solutions provider Boustead Projects would focus on the development and management of an aerospace and high-tech park within the Subang Aerotech Park and providing BtS solutions for customised, high-grade industrial facilities to be leased to tenants in aerospace industry. The activities under this partnership would be carried out through a joint-venture company in which MAHB and Boustead Projects would hold 30 per cent and 70 per cent stakes, respectively. According to Wong, Malaysia, particularly Selangor, is expected to continue to play an important role in the APAC’s growing MRO market for aircraft. Boustead Projects’ partnership with MAHB would allow the company to further expand its overseas presence in a high-value sector, bolstered by its integrated and growing capabilities across design-and-build and development. Its track record at Singapore Seletar Aerospace Park includes projects for Airbus, Bell Helicopter, Bombardier, Hawker Pacific, Rolls-Royce and Safran. Boustead Projects managing director Thomas Chu said the company is in talks with potential players to build and lease space, and expects to finalise the discussions within the next six to 12 months. Meanwhile, the partnership MAHB sealed with TPAM would involve an estimated investment of RM2 million to operate an MRO facility for wheel and brakes. The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia gave its approval for the facility in January this year. The MRO facility will be one of eight facilities under TP Aerospace Group which is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. TPAM aims to service airline customers all over the world from 18 strategic locations by 2020, supporting more than 1,000 aircraft contract and employing more than 500 employees globally. -- BERNAMA