UPECA RM151 million facility to start construction in April
S U BANG JAYA: The construction of Senior Aerospace UPECA’s manuf ac tur ing plant and office at the Subang Aerospace Park by Axis REIT Manager Bhd wi l l begin in early April and is expected to be completed by year- end.
Axis REIT chief executive officer/executive director, Leong Kit May, said the 1.66- hectare ( ha) facility would be used as Senior Aerospace UPECA’s centre for manufacturing, storage and distribution of aerospace parts.
“The RM151 million facility has an initial fixed lease period of 20 years, with an option to renew for two terms of six years each,” she said at the facility’s groundbreaking ceremony here yesterday.
Also present were Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, and Ma laysia Airports Holdings Bhd ( MAHB) managing director, Datuk Badlisham Ghazali.
Leong said the company was excited to be part of the regeneration of the Subang Airport initiatives by having a presence here at the Subang Aerotech Park.
“Our col laboration with Malaysia Airports for this 2.84 ha greenfield land started in the first half of 2017, with the agreements signed in November 2017,” said Leong.
The new faci l ity would be in addition to Senior Aerospace UPECA’s existing faci l ity in Shah Alam, and would feature state- of- the- art automation manufacturing and comprehensive special process capabilities from the UK- based Senior plc.
Once completed, the facility would employ 360 highly skilled engineering and technical personnel.
Senior’s group chief executive off icer, David Squires, said the group planned to increase its investment in Malaysia significantly over the next 10 years following plans to grow its business in the country.
“It will be an organic growth. We are very much in favour in putting our investments where our existing faci l it ies are, rather than going to different countries,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mustapa said, the ministry planned to strengthen the aerospac e indus t r y in line with its signi f icant growth, which created over 23,000 jobs mainly in the aerospace and manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul ( MRO) segment , through an active participation by small- and medium- sized enterprises.
In 2017, the industry’s total revenue stood at RM13.5 billion, 49 per cent of which came from the aerospace manufacturing sector, while the MRO sector’s exports stood at RM8.49 billion, a 54 per cent increase compared with 2016. — Bernama
Mustapa said under the National Aerospace Blueprint, the aim was to create 10,000 more jobs by 2030, up from the current 23,000.
“We will also be working hard to increase the industry’s revenue to RM55.5 billion during the period. It is a big challenge, thus we welcome investments by Senior,” he said. — Bernama
The RM151 million facility has an initial fixed lease period of 20 years, with an option to renew for two terms of six years each. Leong Kit May, Axis REIT chief executive officer/executive director