SIA Engineering, Cebu Pacific to put up $100-M repair facility in RP

SIA Engineering Philippines Corp. (SIAEPC), in partnership with Cebu Pacific Air, will break ground today for the establishment of a $100-million maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at the Clark Civil Aviation Complex.

Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) president and CEO Victor Jose Luciano, SIA Engineering Co. (SIAEC) president and CEO William Tan and Cebu Pacific president and CEO Lance Gokongwei will lead the groundbreaking rites as well as the time capsule-laying for the multi-million dollar MRO project.

The MRO facility will service long-haul commercial aircraft and is expected to further improve services at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) which is being pump-primed as the next premier gateway of the Philippines.

“The MRO fulfills the vision of President Arroyo to make Clark a leading world-class service hub in the Asia Pacific Region,” Luciano said.

For his part, Gokongwei said they are positive that a world-class MRO facility at Clark will further enhance the aerospace industry in the Philippines. “With SIA Engineering Co.’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 desptach reliability and engineering quality,” he added.

SIAEPC is 65-percent owned by SIAEC with Cebu Pacific owning the remaining 35-percent stake in the joint venture.

The project involves the construction of three large hangars that will service long-haul commercial aircraft at its 10-hectare property at the 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 in its construction phase and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2009. The MRO will complement the development of the DMIA as a logistics and services hub as well as the Clark International Airport as envisioned by President Arroyo.

Luciano said the MRO is an important integral part of the operations of the DMIA because it can now handle the maintenance, repair and overhaul of legacy carriers in the Asian region.

As part of the Singapore Airlines Group, SIAEC provides maintenance services for the more than 60 international carriers operating at Singapore’s Changi International Airport, including airframe and component overhaul on some of the most advanced, widely used commercial aircraft in the world.