Rolls-Royce confirms that it will begin the construction of its planned Trent engine factory at Singapore's Seletar Aerospace Park in the first quarter of 2010.
The company unveiled its plans for the plant, the first of its kind outside the UK, in November 2007. It was to have been operational by end-2009 and manufacture up to 400 engines annually. However, by February this year, construction had yet to begin, raising questions about the company's commitment to the project.
Rolls-Royce would not say when engine production will begin, adding that projects like these "generally take a few years to complete".
"The facility is for the testing and assembly of Trent aero engines, as originally announced," says Rolls-Royce. "It will produce Trent engines for a variety of aircraft."
According to the 2007 announcement, the facility will produce the Trent 1000 for the Boeing 787 and Trent XWB for the Airbus A350 XWB. These will be manufactured and certified in Singapore before being shipped to aircraft assembly plants in the USA and France.
The total investment in the Seletar facility will be in excess of S$700 million ($486 million), which includes the originally announced $320 million. This includes a Wide Chord Fan Blade factory that Rolls-Royce announced today and a training centre.
It will create approximately 500 new jobs when operational, says the company.
While the factory was meant to take up 8 hectares at Seletar, Rolls-Royce says the completed facility will "take up more space" than that. In 2007, the company said that it had an option for ten additional hectares.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
