Malaysia may take part in Asian aircraft project

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will meet with Japanese officials at the end of the year to discuss the possibility of participating in an Asian aircraft project.

Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof said the idea was put forward by the Japanese government, which had invited Malaysia, among other Asian countries, to participate in the project.

“They invited us to consider participating in the Asian aircraft project, as we have the base here in relation to what we do to support the global aircraft industry,” he said.

Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a government-linked company with the Ministry of Finance Inc as its major shareholder, manufactures and supplies composite aero structures to major aircraft manufacturers including Airbus.

“This will be our base if the ideation does materialise in the near future.

“Malaysia will supply components for the aircraft,” he told reporters after delivering his keynote address at the Malaysian Economic Summit.

He said a blueprint had not been prepared yet, and the project was only at the ideation stage.

“The plan is to expand the capacity and capabilities of the vendors already in the industry, and then combine resources and technology among participating Asian countries to realise this project.

“We hope to have a meeting in late November to discuss this further,” he said.