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Aerospace industry in for big business in Malaysia
The aerospace industry is big business â within the next 15 years, the Government is projecting the industry, which includes aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services as well as manufacturing of high-tech components, to generate total revenue of 55
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he aerospace industry is big business ' within the next 15 years, the Government is projecting the industry, which includes aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services as well as manufacturing of high-tech components, to generate total revenue of 55.2 billion ringgit (US$14.87 billion).
It will also create 32,000 high skilled jobs by 2030.
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) deputy chief executive office Phang Ah Thong told StarBiz that this objective, as laid out in the new Malaysian Aerospace Industry Blueprint 2015-2030, was achievable.
Last year, the local aerospace industry generated 19 billion ringgit in revenue and 4.2 billion ringgit in investments, with 19,500 jobs created. The blueprint was launched by prime minister Najib Tun Razak at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2015.
By 2034, it is estimated that there will be 36,000 aircraft worldwide. Asia will require 13,000 aircraft to meet demand.
'For this reason, both Airbus and Boeing are lining up business plans to increase their supply chain in Asia to more than 20 per cent from less than 5 per cent presently to meet the production needs of single-aisle planes,' Phang said.
He said local manufacturing companies with the capabilities to support aerospace industry with parts and components should get international certifications from regulatory bodies such as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
'These certifications will enable the local companies to work with Tier-1 and Tier-2 aerospace manufacturing companies,' he said.
Phang said 41 investment projects worth 5.3 billion ringgit were approved from 2009 to 2014 for the aerospace sector.
Of the 41, he said 19 were MRO projects while in 2014, there were seven investments for 682 million ringgit, of which 27 per cent was from foreign investments.
According to the blueprint, the Malaysian aerospace industry is positioning itself to be the top aerospace training and education as well as the top aerospace manufacturing centre in South-East Asia by 2020 and 2025 respectively.
The local aerospace industry aimed to capture 5 per cent market share in the MRO sector by 2030. It also aimed for the engineering and design services sector to obtain a 3.5 per cent global market share by 2030.
The blueprint emphasised the need for government procurements to give opportunities to local players by becoming smart buyers.
It also indicated that a change in attitude was necessary to drive investments into research and technology.
The blueprint stressed the need to increase Malaysian-made components in aircraft and participate in international aircraft development programmes, reduce the dependency on designs for military aircraft upgrades and give priority to local design and engineering solutions.
The blueprint also spelled out some of the guidelines that will be implemented to achieve the goals in 2030.
The guidelines include enhancing those institutions with direct influence on the aerospace industry's growth, provide incentives and matching funding for the targeted aerospace investments, capture new market and strengthen the local supply chain. (***)
