Seletar aviation hub coming up fast
Rolls-Royce factory and Eurocopter facility to be ready by end of year
By Karamjit Kaur
THE development of Seletar Aerospace Park, which stalled last year because of the recession, is picking up speed again, with some key projects slated for completion before the end of the year.
Construction works were in full swing during a recent visit to the site.
British engine giant Rolls-Royce, a key tenant, said a factory to make engine fan blades for large aircraft - its first such plant outside England - should be completed by December.
Two other facilities, a regional training centre and a plant to assemble and test engines, will come up in the middle of next year, the company told The Straits Times.
Rolls-Royce, which has been in Singapore for more than 50 years, is investing more than $700 million in the whole project, covering 154,000 sq m.
It has started a recruitment drive to fill 500 positions, with key posts in operations, finance, human resources and engineering already filled.
Helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter is also building a facility at Seletar to train pilots and carry out maintenance and repair work. It is 70 per cent built and will be completed in October.
In revised plans, the company will now invest $43 million in its Seletar project instead of $15 million as earlier announced, said Eurocopter South-east Asia president Bernhard Brenner.
Part of the extra cost is due to a new simulator to be installed at the pilot training academy, he said.
With the new facility, the company will be able to work on up to 24 helicopters at a time, instead of the present 12 at its Loyang Way premises. Eurocopter is owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, which is the parent of aircraft maker Airbus.
Engine maker Pratt & Whitney has also confirmed plans to set up operations at Seletar.
These aviation heavyweights are among the first players in the development of the 300ha aerospace hub, which will transform the sleepy environs of Seletar Airport, a former military airbase, into a modern aviation centre with aircraft hangars, factories and buildings.
Before the makeover was announced, Seletar was home to a handful of aerospace companies as well as flying schools and private jet companies.
Bigger players like ST Aerospace, Jet Aviation and the Singapore Youth Flying Club are staying on, but many smaller companies have not made their final decisions yet.
The chief executive officer of Executive Jets Asia and Flying Doctors Asia, Mr Prithpal Singh, said: 'We are happy where we are now and our lease only expires in two years' time, so we still have time to decide whether we want to stay or move out.'
JTC Corp, which is spearheading the entire development, due to be completed by 2018, has started work on a cluster of factories and a seven-storey building, but Mr Singh said these do not meet his operational needs.
He said: 'We will see what more they offer us and then we will decide.'
To support the development of the aerospace park, Changi Airport Group, which manages Seletar Airport, is upgrading the passenger terminal building there and erecting a new control tower to handle any increase in the number of flights.
The runway is also being extended from 1.6km to 1.8km to enable pilots to land bigger aircraft like the Airbus 320 single-aisle jet with greater ease.
The extension will be completed next month, but additional works to be done to the end of the runway mean it will be operational for 10 hours a day and closed the rest of the time until the works are completed by the third quarter of next year.
Changi Airport spokesman Ivan Tan said the work will be carried out at night when there is less aircraft activity, so as to minimise the inconvenience.
Even while extension works were ongoing, the airport had at times opened the runway after hours to meet specific operational requests of companies operating at Seletar, he said.
karam@sph.com.sg
Rolls-Royce's factory to make engine fan blades will be its first outside England. -- PHOTO: ROLLS-ROYCE
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