IMPORTANT SECTOR: (From right) Najib along with Airbus president and CEO Fabrice Bregier and SAE director, Datuk Syed Budriz Putra during the event. Malaysia has identified the MRO business as one of the sectors in the Business Services Entry NKEAs. — Bernama photo
SEPANG: The new Airbus Customer Services facility will put Malaysia on the international map as a centre for specialised aerospace engineering services, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said yesterday.
The centre to be located adjacent to the Sepang Aircraft Engineering (SAE) facility represents an expansion of the manufacturer’s global network of offices providing 24/7 specialised major aircraft engineering and repair services.
Existing offices offering these services are located in Toulouse, Hamburg, Wichita and Beijing.
Speaking at the construction of a second hangar at the SAE facility here yesterday, Najib said Malaysia is among the three leading countries in the Asia Pacific for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre for services.
The hanger is a joint venture between Airbus and SAE, and marking an expansion of its footprints in Southeast Asia.
Najib said: “We have been able to stay competitive because of the sheer volume of business in this region, coupled with our advantage of an early foray into the sector and an edge in quality human capital at far more competitive rates.
“Our superior cost position is powerfully attractive to airline customers.
“Malaysia has thus identified the MRO business as one of the sectors in the Business Services Entry National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs),” he said.
The Prime Minister said the NKEA represents an important catalyst for Malaysia’s development towards high-income nation status in 2020.
The MRO sector is projected to grow by 10 per cent annually and new projects are expected to create 20,000 jobs in the country, he said.
“This year our Entry Point Projects’ target is RM380 million in revenue from fleet technical management and RM2.4 billion from airframe MRO,” he said.
Najib said several initiatives were already underway to develop the MRO ecosystem.
He said there was greater development of Malaysia’s airport infrastructure, the availability of land and the creation of more conducive operating environment through improved tax and civil aviation regulations.
“These we are confident will continue to make Malaysia as a preferred MRO destination.
“The aspiration is to capture five per cent of the world market share in the MRO business.
“Thus, the government will be most supportive of any efforts to part take in this journey,” added Najib, who is also the Finance Minister. — Bernama