Daily Express
Published on: Saturday, May 08, 2010
Sabah has set its sight on becoming an aviation hub in the region with the setting up an aviation academy and a helicopter maintenance centre in the State.
This was put into motion with the signing of two memoranda at the First Borneo International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition witnessed by Musa, Friday.
The first was the signing of the Declaration of Interest to Develop the Aviation Industry in Sabah, between Borneo Flying Academy, a subsidiary of Yayasan Sabah Group, which is the State Government's strategic development vehicle, Sabah Air Aviation Sdn Bhd and EADS (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, which is the parent company of Airbus and Eurocopter.
The second was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding for the setting up of an Approved Eurocopter Maintenance Centre between Eurocopter Malaysia and Sabah Air.
Yayasan Sabah Group Deputy Director, Dr Johan Arrifin Samad said Borneo Flying Academy Sdn Bhd was being set up for an aviation school and an application had been submitted for the DCA licence.
"I think the normal process will take about six months before the school can take off the ground. In the meantime, we are already talking to our partners and potential customers AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and simulator suppliers and so on.
At the moment the school would be on fixed-wing aircraft "but we are also working with Eurocopter on the helicopter maintenance side".
Yayasan Sabah is also supplying helicopter services to offshore platforms and they hoped to work with Eurocopter to bring this helicopter maintenance to Sabah.
Meanwhile, Eurocopter Malaysia, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Nardelli who signed the MoU on behalf of Eurocopter said the maintenance centre was starting almost immediately with Sabah Air engineers now training in Europe.
Sabah Air Chairman Pang Yuk Ming said they had sent two of its top engineers to France and Germany for a two-month course to familiarise with Eurocopter helicopters.
"Sabah Air has been in the industry for 35 years and we have a group of experienced and professional engineers," he said, adding Musa was the driving force behind making Sabah an aviation centre.
He said as the Tawau and Sandakan airports are not heavily used this is where Sabah Air can position themselves for the flying academy and helicopter services.
Pang said the maintenance facility would be for two aircraft in the Eurocopter civil range namely, the AS355 NP Ecureuil and the EC145 which have been purchased. The new helicopters would be delivered in the second half of this year.
The AS355 NP, a twin-engine version of the Ecureuil range, is to be used for the Flying Doctors service in Sabah, while the EC145 is intended for Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
Both these aircraft would be the first such type in Malaysia and the EC145 will be first EMS machine in the country.
He said Sabah Air's presence in the oil and gas conference was to give a strong signal to the industry of its intention to get back into offshore operations. "The confidence of Sabah Air is boosted with the tie-up with Eurocopter."
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=72275
