Sabah will have the country’s first and only training centre offering Aircraft Maintenance Technician under European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Category A training programme with dual certification when the proposed RM25 million KKIP Aerospace Training Centre at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) begins operations mid next year.
The training programmes comes with certifications by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and EASA. With an initial investment value of RM35 million, this five-acre aerospace training centre is expected to cater up to 250 students annually.
It would be a stepping stone for Sabah to become a player in the aerospace industry, said Deputy Chief Minister cum Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau at the signing of Commercial and Technical Agreement for the development of the KKIP Aerospace Training Centre between Mega Aerospace Centre Sdn Bhd and Germany’s Aero-Bildung Gmbh at Pacific Sutera, Monday. Also signed was a Purchase Agreement for a RM650,000 Cavalon 915 iS Aircraft between KKIP Aerospace Sdn Bhd and Autogyro GmbH. “It is our biggest hope that this collaboration between Mega Aerospace Centre Sdn Bhd and Aero-Bildung, Gmbh will create a platform for Sabahans to obtain internationally recognised aerospace training. “To churn out skilled manpower is a natural progression that the State has to undertake considering that Kota Kinabalu International Airport is the second busiest in Malaysia, and that the regional aerospace industry of Asean is expanding exponentially,” said Tangau. He said last week he was at a trade mission to China led by the Chief Minister and there were 12 memorandum of understandings (MoUs) signed with total projected investments of RM10 billion in various sectors, while the other RM10 billion are from business matching between Sabah and Chinese businessmen. “We hope we will be able to bring more investments into Sabah to reach our target of 35 per cent of industrial contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2030. “We were also hoping that through the initiatives in aerospace industry, namely KKIP Aerospace Hub, we will be able to attract investments in components MRO, components manufacturing and light aircraft assembly. “These are amongst the manufacturing development contents that could achieve the objective of increasing manufacturing activities. All of these developments are done to bring prosperity and peace for the people of Malaysia and Sabah in particular,” he said.
In line with the aggressive manufacturing activities and programmes that are coordinated by the Government and its agencies, he said, development of skilled human resources need to be undertaken in tandem in order to produce quality human capital that is knowledgeable and innovative continuously. “Therefore, I strongly believe that the development of KKIP Aerospace Training Centre is relevant and beneficial to our State,” he said. Tangau, who is also Chairman of KKIP Sdn Bhd, also said that KKIP itself is in the process of transformation to go for high value-added manufacturing, and developing the necessary ecosystem to drive investments in this sector. “Today’s events is just one of those programmes that have been planned. There are many other industrial developments that are in the implementation stages besides aerospace developments. “Together with Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia), KKIP Sdn Bhd is planning for a major Free Economic Zone in KKIP, of which development contents include Automotive Hub, Biotech Park, Halal Food Hub, as well as general manufacturing zone...we are very excited to see that these developments will become a reality,” he said. KKIP Aerospace Sdn Bhd Director, Melvin G Disimond, meanwhile, said that the company as a wholly-owned subsidiary of KKIP Sdn Bhd, through Mega Aerospace Centre Sdn Bhd, aims high to set up and develop an aviation training centre with the “Maintenance Training Organization and Exposition Approval” from the Civil Aviation Department (DCA) and EASA respectively to be obtained and to provide aircraft maintenance technician licensing program for students. He said the Malaysian Aerospace Industry Blueprint 2030 has set a vision for Malaysia to be the no. 1 aerospace nation in South East Asia (SEA) and be as an integral part of the global market by the year 2030, with an annual revenue of RM55.2 billion and create more than 32,000 high income jobs. “The KKIP Aerospace Training Centre to be situated at KKIP, Industrial Zone 15, in joint technical cooperation with certified technical school offering the EASA Part 147 approved course structure with 12 certificates of recognition leading to EASA Category A Aircraft Maintenance License. “The proposed five-acre campus will be able to accommodate an annual intake of 250 students, and to be equipped with workshop, classroom, laboratory, hangar facilities and hostel accommodation and the total development cost of the proposed aviation training centre is RM25 million,” he said. He said the establishment of this training facility in applied aerospace engineering not only provide opportunities for Sabahans to find jobs in the aviation industry but also be a catalyst for the creation of an Aviation MRO industry in Sabah. “With a rapidly expanding aviation industry in the Asean region, we see the potential demand for authorised MRO service providers to provide support, repairs and spare parts services and subsequently minimise the need for operators to leave the region for their MRO needs. “Currently most of MRO demand from Sabah is catered by the Philippines and Peninsula Malaysia. In order to provide actual experience of our maintenance, repair and overhaul, we have decided to purchase Auto Gyro Cavalon 915 iS Aircraft with Auto Gyro GmbH, for the use of the training centre,” he said.State Secretary cum KKIP Aerospace Sdn Bhd Chairman, Datuk Hashim Paijan, Assistant Trade and Industry Minister, Ben Chong, Mega Aerospace Sdn Bhd Chairman, Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Dali Isa, and Laurenz Sebastian Destch of Autogyro GmbH, among others.
Source : Daily Express
Published on: Tuesday, April 30, 2019
By: Larry Ralon
