Gyeongnam Province, Sacheon Aviation MRO Industrial Complex on Track ... Completion in 2023

Gyeongnam Province is promoting the completion of the Sacheon Aircraft Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) Industrial Complex by 2023.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Jucheol In] Amid ongoing opposition from the Sacheon region in Gyeongnam over the government's dualization of the aircraft maintenance (MRO) project, it has been confirmed that the Sacheon aircraft maintenance (MRO) is progressing smoothly.

Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 5th that it is pushing forward with the goal of completing the Sacheon aircraft maintenance (MRO) industrial complex by 2023.

The aircraft MRO project, which Gyeongnam Province is prioritizing, began in earnest in December 2017 when Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) was selected by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as the government-supported aircraft MRO operator.

Gyeongnam Province and Sacheon City combined provincial and municipal funds totaling 100 billion KRW to start construction in December 2018 for the early groundbreaking and successful promotion of the aircraft MRO industrial complex. As of the end of last month, the aircraft MRO complex showed a 60% progress rate, with completion targeted for 2023.

The aircraft MRO industry is a system industry that integrates advanced technologies, a high value-added knowledge-based industry, and has significant employment creation and industrial ripple effects. To foster growth in this aircraft MRO industry, KAI established Korea Aerospace Service, the only government-supported aircraft MRO specialized company in Korea, as a subsidiary. Starting with the initial maintenance of Jeju Air B-737 aircraft in 2019, it has been responsible for medium maintenance of aircraft for domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs).

From 2019 to June of this year, it has serviced 81 civil aircraft of domestic airlines, and from this year aims to maintain over 50 aircraft annually through aircraft MRO maintenance.

Cho Hyun-jun, Director of the Industrial Innovation Bureau of the province, said, "We hope that the Gyeongnam aircraft maintenance industry will not be limited to medium maintenance of airframes but will expand to parts maintenance and performance upgrades, with Sacheon at the center leading the future growth of Gyeongnam's aviation industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.