Saturday, May 03, 2008 Singaporean firm sets up MRO facility at Clark By Reynaldo G. Navales
CLARK FREEPORT -- A Singaporean company is set to establish a world-class Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility inside the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).
The state-owned Clark International Airport Corporation (Ciac) recently forged an understanding with the Singaporean Airlines Engineering Company for the establishment of multi-million dollar MRO facilities at the DMIA.
Ciac President Victor Jose I. Luciano signed a memorandum of understanding with Siaec President Willy Tan who earlier signed a partnership with Cebu Pacific Airways to set up a $100 million MRO facility that would cater various large commercial aircrafts such as Boeing and Airbus.
Luciano said the MRO is an important integral part of the DMIA operations.
The airport was recently chosen as "Airport of the Year" by the prestigious Frost and Sullivan Global Consulting Firm.
Siaec, a major provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services in the Asia Pacific Region, is part of the Singapore Airlines Group. It provides maintenance services to Singapore's Changi Airport for the more than 60 international carriers including airframe and component overhaul on some of the most advanced and widely used commercial aircraft in the world.
Siaec's line maintenance support extends to more than 40 countries including Australia, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Luciano said the project is expected to generate 700 jobs in the field of aircraft repair and maintenance. According to him, the Singaporean group will construct five large hangars for the repair of Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
The MRO facility will complement the development of a logistics hub and the development of DMIA. It will occupy a 10-hectare property inside the aviation complex.
The facility would be the center of repair, maintenance and overhaul of various wide- and narrow-bodied aircraft such as the Airbus A380 -- currently the world's largest aircraft, the Airbus 300, and Boeing 747s and 777s, among others.
Siaec services at least 80 international carriers and aerospace equipment manufacturers. It has 20 certifications from airworthiness authorities around the world with six hangars and 22 in-house workshops in Singapore, which provide a complete MRO services in airframe, component, engine, aircraft conversions and modifications to major airlines from four continents.
Luciano has also signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Kuwait Gulf and Link (KGL) of Kuwait for the establishment of the Global Gateway Logistics Park located at Industrial Estate Five.
The KGL project, initially costing about $25,000,000, will be aviation-related and dependent businesses including, but not limited to warehousing, distribution, multi-nodal logistics, light manufacturing alongside complementary business operations, and facilities to support aviation-related activities within the Civil Aviation Complex of the airport.
KGL will occupy at least 1,250,000 square meters (125 hectares) at the civil aviation complex for the development of the world-class logistics park.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo witnessed the signing of the agreements, which also coincided with the inauguration of the expanded DMIA Terminal.
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