RP - PGMA groundbreaks $100-M aircraft maintenance facility for Asian region at Clark

Manila (7 November) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the groundbreaking of a $100-million commercial aircraft maintenance facility at the Clark Civil Aviation Complex here to upgrade the services at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) which is being pump-primed as a premier gateway in the country.

The establishment of the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility is a partnership of SIA Engineering Philippines and Cebu Pacific Air.Assisting the President during the ceremony were Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) president & CEO Victor Jose I. Luciano, SIA Engineering Company president & CEO William Tan, and Cebu Pacific president & CEO Lance Gokongwei.

Luciano said the MRO facility will service long-haul commercial aircraft "and will fulfill the vision of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to make Clark a leading world-class service hub in the Asia Pacific Region."For his part, Gokongwei said the world-class MRO facility at Clark will further enhance Philippine aerospace."With SIA Engineering Company's MRO proficiency, we will certainly develop the local talent pool of aerospace management and engineering personnel. In addition, a heavy maintenance facility in the Philippines will significantly enhance Cebu Pacific Air's despatch reliability and engineering quality," Gokongwei said.

SIA Engineering (Philippines) Corporation is 65 percent owned by the SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), with Cebu Pacific Air owning a 35-percent stake in the joint venture.The MRO facility project involves the construction of three large hangars that will service long-haul commercial aircraft in its 10-hectare property at the DMIA airport. The first hangar will service narrow-bodied aircraft such as the Airbus 320 while the second and third will service wide-bodied aircraft such as the Boeing 747s and 777s.

The facility will generate at least 1,000 jobs during its construction phase. Expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2009, the MRO project will complement the vision of the President to develop the DMIA as a logistics and services hub that can handle the maintenance, repair and overhaul of legacy carriers in the Asian region.A part of the Singapore Airlines Group, SIAEC provides maintenance services for the more than 60 international carriers operating at Singapore's Changi International Airport. 

The services include airframe and component overhaul on some of the most advanced, widely-used commercial aircraft in the world.Last April 4 during the inauguration of the expanded DMIA Passenger Terminal here, the President witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CIAC, SIAEC, and Cebu Pacific Air for the establishment of the world-class MRO facility