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FEATURE CHANGI

keep up with our government,” he quips. would need to be at the new site at Changi and
Lam says: “We know we will need to vacate it would need to be a site with runway access,
Paya Lebar and moving to Changi is one he adds. Lam also says their current site at
option – depending on what is available – but Changi is not ideal, because aircraft need to
our business is a global one. We already have cross one of the runways in order to access
capacity in China and the US.” He says ST Aero their facility.
will make its decision on where to expand in The benefit of Paya Lebar is ST Aero’s
accordance with market demand. airframe maintenance facilities there are
He says ST Aero is still waiting to hear next to its engine and component overhaul
from the authorities about how much land facilities. But the benefit of Changi is you
could possibly be made available at Changi for are at the main commercial airport and there
ST Aero and how much the land would cost. may be synergies having airframe heavy
Labour costs in Singapore is another maintenance located near line maintenance,
important factor that ST Aero needs to take says Lam.
into consideration, says Lam, adding that Lam says ST Aero sees the increased
“we’re not tied to any one single location.” passenger traffic forecast at Changi, to be an
One of the key challenges Singapore’s MRO opportunity for its line maintenance business.
industry faces is labour costs, because often SIA Engineering dominates line maintenance
it is competing for MRO work – particularly at Changi with more than 80 percent market
airframe heavy maintenance work – against share. Lam says ST Aero has less than 10
lower cost countries. percent market share, but it is making inroads
ST Aero’s main MRO base is at Paya Lebar, and anticipates that its line maintenance
something more conducive for the residents where it has hangars that can accommodate business will grow significantly.
living there. four widebodies and four narrowbodies “We are taking a bit of market share
“The exact dates [for the closure of Paya simultaneously. Its engine and component off them,” but it is hard competing against
Lebar AFB] have not been announced, but we MRO businesses are also at Paya Lebar. a SIA Engineering because there is a lot of
know it will be post 2030,” says Tan. But it already has airframe MRO facilities reciprocity involved, says Lam.
“The runway dependent bits of industry at Changi and Seletar. Its hangars at Changi Sometimes SIA Engineering wins line
around Paya Lebar will have to move, because can accommodate five widebodies and maintenance work, for example, from
the airport there will close. But it’s not so clear two narrowbodies simultaneously. And European carriers because Singapore Airlines
about the non-runway dependent industrial the hangars at Seletar can handle seven promises to use the European carriers’ line
businesses,” says Tan, adding that “they may narrowbodies and 24 business aviation maintenance company when in Europe.
stay.” aircraft simultaneously. ST Aero is an independent MRO, so this is
ST Aero chief operating officer, Jeffrey Lam rules out expanding at Seletar something it is unable to do.
Lam, says the expansion of Changi Airport is because the runway there is too short to
really about catering to the forecast increase accommodate widebodies.
in passenger traffic. “It is good that the He also says there is no land available
government is forward looking. It thinks so far for ST Aero to expand its existing facility at
ahead, sometimes it is hard for some of us to Changi. If it were to expand at that airport, it
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