Abu Dhabi's Mubadala lays out aerospace ambitions
By Murdo Morrison
The emirate of Abu Dhabi is stepping up plans to become a major force in global aerospace, emulating the ambitions of its United Arab Emirates neighbour Dubai. It comes as Boeing and Lockheed Martin become the latest Western manufacturers aiming to establish an industrial presence in the oil-rich Gulf region.
At the show, Boeing signed memoranda of understanding with both Abu Dhabi development agency Mubadala and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise to explore possible joint ventures. Lockheed also announced an MoU with Mubadala to collaborate on maintenance, repair and overhaul and other projects in the Middle East and North Africa.
Abu Dhabi has earmarked aerospace and aviation as the "second plank" of a strategy to diversify the economy from its reliance on oil exports - hydrocarbons being the first. Mubadala has been investing heavily in the sector - it has a 35% stake in Italian business aircraft maker Piaggio, owns Horizon Flight Academy, and together with DAE and another Dubai investor last year bought European MRO provider SR Technics.
However, chief operating officer Waleed Al Mokarrab al Muhairi says its ambitions go beyond simply taking equity in foreign businesses. "The single most important aspect of our mandate is diversifying the Abu Dhabi economy, so everything we do is with that in mind," he says.
One area being looked at is the manufacture of advanced aircraft structures, building on the experience of nationally-owned MRO company Gamco in composite repair work, says al Muhairi. He believes Abu Dhabi can create a "tier one supplier in the next five to 10 years" and "within my lifetime there is no reason we cannot replicate the Embraer story in Brazil".
Central to the deal with Lockheed is likely to be the setting up of a capability within Gamco to service and eventually upgrade the UAE air force's 82 F-16 Block 60s. Boeing - whose Apache helicopters the UAE also flies - will help Abu Dhabi establish a research and development centre, and provide "strategic guidance" on the implementation of its aerospace strategy.
Meanwhile, DAE chief executive Bob Johnson says the group has in place all six "vertical" business units it promised to set up when it launched around 18 months ago. Its latest - a leasing operation - will begin trading "in a couple of months", using a fleet of up to 100 "principally, but not exclusively" narrowbodies acquired new or secondhand.
He says of the MoU with Boeing that all six of its businesses - aircraft leasing, airport management, engineering, information services, manufacturing and training - "have a relationship" with the airframer.
Speaking at the show, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Emirates and president of Dubai Civil Aviation, said the emirate was spending $82 billion on the aviation sector between now and 2015, including expanding the Emirates fleet and building the world's largest airport and free trade zone. "We are witnessing the birth of the world's new aviation hub," he said.
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