Positioning Malaysia as an aerospace hub in South-East Asia

Positioning Malaysia as an aerospace hub in South-East Asia

11 Oct 2023

The New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) will complement the Malaysian Aerospace Blueprint 2030 in transforming the country into a global hub for sustainable aerospace manufacturing and services.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the blueprint outlines 41 key initiatives and is expected to generate annual revenue of RM55.2bil and create 32,000 high income jobs by 2030.

The plans aim to position Malaysia as the aerospace hub in South-East Asia, as well as an integral part of the global aerospace supply chain by 2030.

Tengku Zafrul stated that the aerospace industry plays an important role in advancing the missions outlined under the NIMP 2030.

“This is particularly on advancing economic complexity, embracing tech quickly to foster a digitally vibrant nation, as well as pushing towards net zero,” he told reporters after opening the Boeing-National Aerospace Industry Corp Malaysia supply chain forum, yesterday.

Tengku Zafrul said Boeing Airplane and Transport Corp is the right fit for the country.

“Malaysia needs partners like Boeing to share its technology to help make sustainable manufacturing a reality in the country,” Tengku Zafrul added.

He pointed out that sustainable manufacturing technology is synonymous with massive cost savings, quoting Boeing’s initiative for 1,000 3D-printed brackets in the galleys of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

“Boeing’s resource-efficient process decreased the water, material, time and energy consumed while reducing excess industrial waste and lubricants used in standard machining processes,” he noted.Tengku Zafrul said the aerospace company has managed to cut carbon emissions, resources and waste to landfills by between 30% and 39%, and roughly US$3mil in construction cost on each jet built.

“As we are proactively developing our aerospace industry, I hope Boeing is willing to share such technologies with its Malaysian suppliers because globally, our chance to quickly reduce greenhouse gases is fast running out,” he said.

He said Boeing can symbiotically support the development of supply-chain resiliency.

This is also in line with the NIMP 2030’s goals for economic security and inclusivity, with the aim to make suppliers within every manufacturing ecosystem to be more resilient.

“As a policymaker, the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry’s role is to also involve other partners, such as academia, in ensuring a robust talent pipeline, which in turn, also supports the industry’s human resource resiliency,” Tengku Zafrul added.

Boeing South-East Asia president Alexander C. Feldman said South-East Asia, especially Malaysia, is likely to be a net winner as the aerospace group grows and diversifies its supply chains.

“In fact, for Boeing, globally, there is no more important issue than supply chain and ensuring resiliency in our suppliers,” he said.

He said even if there is a possibility of an economic downturn, the industry is resilient.

“With demand growing, all it needs is suppliers,” he said.

On a separate note, Tengku Zafrul expressed his hope for more incentives to be allocated in the upcoming Budget 2024 for the aerospace industry.

Source: The Star