MacroAsia breaks ground on new Clark aircraft maintenance hub
Lucio Tan’s airline services firm MacroAsia Corp., through its associated company Lufthansa Technik Philippines Inc. (LTP), has broken ground on its new aircraft base maintenance facility at Clark International Airport.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday, Aug. 6, MacroAsia said the project forms part of LTP’s planned expansion of its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities in the Philippines and is expected to strengthen the country’s position as a competitive aviation services hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
The new facility will be built on an approximately 157,000-square-meter (sqm), or 15.7-hectare (ha), site and is targeted to commence operations in 2028, subject to the completion of construction, regulatory approvals, and other customary project requirements.
Once operational, the Clark facility will serve as LTP’s second major base maintenance site in the Philippines, complementing its existing operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila. LTP has been providing aircraft maintenance services in the country for more than 25 years.
Designed primarily to support widebody aircraft maintenance, the Clark facility is expected to feature dedicated aircraft painting and non-destructive testing capabilities.
The new site is designed to accommodate up to nine widebody aircraft bays. Over the coming years, the three-digit million-dollar investment is expected to create around 1,200 highly skilled jobs.
It is also being developed to accommodate selected Airbus and Boeing widebody aircraft, with planned future capabilities for aircraft types such as Airbus A350 and Boeing 787.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by representatives of LTP, MacroAsia, project partners, government agencies, and other aviation industry stakeholders.
The project reflects the continuing partnership between MacroAsia and Lufthansa Technik AG and their shared objective of developing world-class aviation maintenance capabilities in the Philippines. - James A. Loyola