Malaysia’s National Aerospace Defence Industries (NADI) has established a new commercial aircraft maintenance company that plans to open a seven-hangar facility at Kuala Lumpur’s Subang airport in 2007.
Subang Aviation Services (SAC) says it has leased 37Ha (92 acres) at Subang from Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) for 30 years and will invest about 800 million ringgit ($213 million) in a new maintenance facility. The facility will initially serve as a maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) centre for Boeing 737-300/400s and 747-400s, but SAC aims to later also convert these types of aircraft into freighters. SAC says four widebody and three narrowbody hangars will open in the fourth quarter of 2007 in the former location of Terminal 1, which was recently demolished.
Malaysia’s government has been trying to promote Subang as an aircraft maintenance centre since the opening of Kuala Lumpur International airport in 1998. Another NADI subsidiary, SME Aviation, earlier this year unveiled plans to open a “budget MRO” at Subang in a bid to win contracts from low-cost carriers, starting with Malaysia’s AirAsia.
SAC says the “budget MRO” plan has been taken over by SAC and talks with AirAsia are continuing. SME Aviation will keep its existing business maintaining the indigenous MD3 military trainer and hosting landing-gear repair work conducted by a new joint venture between NADI subsidiary Airod and US aftermarket supplier AAR. Airod is primarily a military aircraft maintenance and modification firm.
While SME and Airod have no expansion plans, they along with SAC will be part of the newly launched Malaysian International Aerospace Centre (MIAC) at Subang. The MIAC, managed by MAHB, also includes the maintenance facilities of Transmile Air Services sister company Grouptech, Eurocopter, GE Engine Services and several small general aviation maintenance companies.
BRENDAN SOBIE/SINGAPORE
Source: Flight International
