Govt committed to supporting aerospace industry's growth - Tengku Zafrul

According to him, Malaysia is today in a much better position policy-wise to promote itself as pro-trade, pro-business and pro-investment.

"No matter what the challenges are, my team and I stand ready to ensure Malaysia's industrial transformation, and keep marketing Malaysia as a prime, cost-efficient launching pad or support base for countries seeking to enter Asean or even Asia," he said at the signing ceremony between Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) and OCP Asia Ltd here today.

ADE, the engineering and maintenance subsidiary of Capital A Bhd, has secured a US$100 million (US$1=RM4.460) investment from OCP Asia to construct and operate a state-of-the-art 14-line aircraft maintenance hangar facility in Sepang, Selangor.

Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia has a thriving maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector that offers numerous investment opportunities.

He noted that in 2022, Malaysia clinched RM600 million worth of MRO expansion projects involving heavy maintenance and components MRO activities by various reputable companies operating in the country.

"This indicates that investors from both within and outside Malaysia see our MRO sector as an investment opportunity with significant potential for growth," he said.

The minister also said ADE's entry into the MRO space within Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific is expected to boost significantly the growth of Malaysia's MRO industry, while also driving healthy competition with existing service providers.

"This partnership will also create new and higher-paying job opportunities for the local workforce and opportunities for localisation of other services by small and medium enterprises in the local supply chain," he said.

Tengku Zafrul said all these would support the implementation of the 12th Malaysia Plan aerospace industry framework led by the National Aerospace Industry Corporation Malaysia (Naico) to help position Malaysia as the leading aerospace hub in Southeast Asia by 2030.

He also said the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry will continue to target foreign direct investments in strategic sectors that are impactful for future growth, namely higher-value electrical and electronics (including medical devices), pharmaceuticals, digital economy, aerospace, and chemicals.