New helicopter centre in the Malaysian International Aerospace Centre

Eurocopter has announced that it will be part ofa new helicopter centre in the Malaysian International Aerospace Centre. Eurocopter Malaysia will be the hub of all rotary wing operations and will start from the centre in April 2012. The new centre will take delivery of an EC226/EC725 full flight simulator, which is due to be installed by the middle of 2012.

In a signing ceremony held at the 2011 Paris Air Show, Eurocopter Malaysia Sdn Bhd (ECM) signed a long-term lease agreement with Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) as the anchor tenant of a new Helicopter Centre which will be developed within the Malaysia International Aerospace Centre.

The Agreement was signed by Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid, Managing Director of MAHB and Pierre Nardelli, President & CEO of ECM. Also present to bear witness to such an important occasion was the Malaysian Minister of Transport, YB Dato’ Seri Kong Cho Ha, as well as Eurocopter President & CEO, Lutz Bertling.

The Helicopter Centre will become the hub for all rotary wing operations and activities such as Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for helicopters, hangarage and parking, as well as training services. Minister of Transport YB Dato’ Seri Kong Cho Ha hailed the new centre as a strategic development in Malaysia’s aviation sector, noting that “the Helicopter Centre concept can become the reference in management of rotary wing operations for the region in future.”

Managing Director of MAHB, Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid pointed out that “Our main objective in making a clear separation between fixed wing and rotary wing operations is primarily to provide a more conducive environment for both types of operations in the safest condition according to Malaysian Civil Aviation standards.”

Besides ECM, the Helicopter Centre will also be the new home to the new joint venture company set up by ECM and Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation (BHIC) for MRO services, and several other operators who are also Eurocopter customers.

Designed to be a one-stop centre for all helicopter needs, ECM will also set up a EC225/EC725 Full Flight Simulator (FFS) in mid 2012 to provide training services to pilots in the Asia Pacific and Australasia region.

“The Helicopter Centre is a timely development to manage the fast evolving aviation industry in Malaysia. It will double ECM’s capacity which will allow us to accommodate our next phase of growth, especially in the development of the completion/customization lines, MRO activities as well as the scheduled deliveries of more than 20 EC225/EC725 helicopters to Malaysia in the next three years,” commented ECM president and chief executive officer Pierre Nardelli.

Construction of the Helicopter Centre will commence in July 2011, and is expected to be completed by April 2012.