FARNBOROUG, UK 12th July 2016 – Malaysia Airports recently launched KLIA Aeropolis, positioning themselves as a global leader with a vision of transforming the airport vicinity into a world-class airport city. KLIA Aeropolis tagline, Creating Tomorrow, Here, is in line with itsVstrategic location within the heart of ASEAN –an advantage to the development of KLIA Aeropolis. The core if its development will be KL International Airport’s (KLIA) which currently caters to more than 50 million passengers a year with over 60 airlines serving 130 direct destinations.
Having observed the global economic impact of airport city development around the world, Malaysia Airports recognises the importance of focusing on the future of the airport area and how it might become a nexus for increased local and global economic activity.
The Malaysian government’s foresight in providing for future growth by allocating KLIA with a land bank totaling 100 square km allows for it to have unrestricted growth potential, expanding from a core airport to that of a complete, synergistic airport and aviation ecosystem that provides best in class connectivity, speed and agility. More than 60% or 13,000 acres of the land bank is designated for airport and aeronautical use. Of this 13,000 acres, the current KLIA airport system takes up 6,000 acres, leaving 7,000 acres reserved for the core airport growth needs over the long term.
Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, Managing Director of Malaysia Airports had this to say, “We are very clear in our KLIA Aeropolis development strategy. The three development clusters identified, namely Aerospace & Aviation; Air Cargo & Logistics; and MICE &Leisure, are synergistic to the larger airport system and will serve to not only benefit the airport operator but also the aviation supply chain as a whole. These clusters were also identified in view of the strong global demand available today and over the longer term.”
He added further that KLIA Aeropolis was poised to capture the growing demands from aerospace industry trends where there has been a significant boom in the national aerospace ecosystem and presence of its players - from only a few players before the year 2000 to over 300 to date, including renowned first-tier players.Malaysia Airports currently hosts over 20% of these players within its aerospace ecosystem in Subang and KLIA. “In fact, the confidence level has already grown and can be seen through recent negotiations and agreements we have had with our business partners,” added Badlisham.
Participating with the Malaysian contingent at the Farnborough International Airshow 2016, Malaysia Airports signed and announced various strategic partnerships, MOU’s, MoBE’s agreements and intents. These were with:
Malaysia Airports, Global Turbine Asia (GTA) MoU
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between Malaysia Airports and Global Turbine Asia (GTA), a company that is part of the French aerospace, defense and security company Safran, created with a vision to provide efficient maintenance, repair service and support for Safran Helicopter Engines (SHE was formerly Turbomeca).
The MoU signified GTA's intention to further invest within Malaysia’s aerospace belt which includes KLIA Aeropolis, Subang and Melaka. It would also be part of GTA's expansion plan in the medium term to invest in its own facility for its MRO and manufacturing activities in the future. With the equity purchase of 10% of SHE shares in GTA – also announced during FIA 2016 - GTA is an important pillar within the SAFRAN group of companies.
Dato' Nonee Ashirin Dato' Mohd Radzi, GTA Chairperson and CEO, had this to say “Last year, Malaysia’s export of aerospace products grew a significant 44.7% to RM4.2 billion. This MoU will open new frontiers for both parties to explore opportunities but it is also a strong statement to the confidence those of us in the industry share.”
Malaysia Airports, RUAG Agreement
An Agreement was signed with RUAG Aviation Malaysia’s, represented by its General Manager, David Jones to secure a 23,000 sqft space close to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang. RUAG Aviation Malaysia is part of RUAG Aviation, and is a leading supplier, support provider and integrator of aircraft systems and components for civil and military customers.
Malaysia Airports, General Electric MoBC
Malaysia Airports signed a Memorandum of Business Collaboration with General Electric(GE) Malaysia, the world’s Digital Industrial Company, with activities across Oil & Gas, Power Generation & Distribution, Aviation, Transportation and Healthcare.
Chief Operating Officer of GE Malaysia, Azli Mohamed said, “We are negotiating the possibility of growing our business within the Subang Technology Park ecosystem. The planned expansion is looking at a potential development of a high technology multi-modal facility encompassing activities in areas such as Energy, Power and Automation. Once finalised, the development will result in significant investments for GE in Malaysia in order to support growth opportunities in the country and the region. ”
Malaysia Airports, Area (AREA) Management MoBC
AREA is a regional private equity firm with offices in Singapore and Malaysia (Area Management Sdn. Bhd.) that specialises in industrial and institutional real estate development and management, real estate advisory services; and due diligence services to institutions acquiring corporate real estate.AREA has provided advice on investing in industrial property in Malaysia, UK, Australia and Germany. Their investor base ranges from pension funds and family offices to institutional investors with total investment exceeding USD1.5 billion. Similar to GE, AREA is keen to develop available plots of land in Malaysia Airports Subang nexus.
Executive Chairman, Stewart Labrooyopined that they were delighted to partner with Malaysia Airports as we scale up our presence in the country. “Our experience coupled with our best practices will allow both parties to do good business together,” said Jeyabalan.
After the announcements, Badlisham further added that Malaysia Airports’ aerospace belt which extends beyond KLIA Aeropolis into Subang and Melakawould help elevate Malaysia to developed-nation status by 2020. KLIA Aeropolis is envisioned to become a world-class airport city with and a destination in its own right.
Multiple award-winning Malaysia Airports is the world’s second largest airport operator by passenger count.