Source : Straits Times – 29 Jul 2009
IN A major boost to Singapore’s aerospace ambitions, Rolls-Royce plans to build a new facility here to make engine fan blades for large aircraft – its first such plant outside England.
Also in the pipeline for the company: A new regional training centre here.
The projects will be built at the Seletar Camp which is being transformed into Singapore’s future aviation hub, Seletar Aerospace Park.
The latest plans take to more than $700 million the total amount that the British power systems and engines giant is pumping into the park. It did not disclose a separate figure for the engine fan blade plant.
Two years ago, Rolls-Royce announced it would build a $320 million factory at Seletar – the first plant in Asia to manufacture and test engines for big commercial planes such as the Boeing 787.
But the economic downturn delayed those plans. Construction of all three facilities – the two factories and the training centre – will now start in the first quarter of next year.
When the projects are completed in a few years, Rolls-Royce, which now employs about 1,400 people here, will increase its head count to 2,000, its regional director, Singapore, Mr Jonathan Asherson told The Straits Times yesterday.
Rolls-Royce staff now based at the International Business Park in Jurong and Nanyang Technological University will also move out of those premises into their new Seletar home, he said.
Despite the current business slowdown, the company is confident that it is the right time to invest, and Singapore is where it wants to be, Mr Asherson said, adding that the future prospects for the industry remain strong.
In a statement issued yesterday to announce its new investment here, Rolls- Royce chief executive Sir John Rose said: ‘Singapore has become a vitally important centre for the group’s operations and this latest investment in wide chord fan blade capability reflects our continuing confidence in Singapore as a place to locate high value-added manufacturing.’
Earlier this year, the company said it would move the global headquarters of its marine business from London to Singapore.
Mr Leo Yip, chairman of the Economic Development Board (EDB), said that Rolls-Royce’s decision to expand its aviation business here is testament to the ‘very strong partnership’ between the British company and Singapore.
The projects also ‘underline the attractiveness of Seletar Aerospace Park as a cradle for new opportunities in the aerospace sector’, he said.
Despite a slowdown in the aviation industry, Singapore’s aerospace sector posted a record output of more than $7 billion last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment