Lufthansa Technik AG looking for opportunities in aircraft maintenance

Lufthansa Technik AG proposed developing an aircraft maintenance facility in the country

German Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Wolfgang Manig shared at a meeting with Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho recently that so many German firms want to invest in the Vietnamese transport sector, such as in seaports, railway modernisation, automobile, and mechanics.

In addition to transport in the aviation sector, aviation mechanics is also a potential area. Thereby, Lufthansa Technik AG and Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company (VAECO) are discussing co-operation opportunities in aircraft maintenance and they need the approval of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) for this plan.

The representative of Lufthansa Technik AG said that they plan to develop an internal maintenance facility for narrow-body aircrafts then evolve it into a maintenance and overhaul facility not only for Vietnamese but also regional customers.

Lufthansa Technik AG (Lufthansa Engineering) is one of the world’s leading providers of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for civil aircrafts as well as its engines and components. It is a subsidiary of Lufthansa Group.

Tho confirmed the two-digit average growth (around 15 per cent in the last ten years) of Vietnam’s civil aviation. This sector holds great potential and MoT is working to approve and create favourable conditions for VAECO and Lufthansa Technik to seek co-operation opportunities.

Earlier, a delegation of foreign enterprises (including Greenland Holding Group, Vision Transportation Group, and VIPD Group) has come to look for co-operation opportunities in Vietnam’s transport infrastructure. The leader of MoT shared information of key transport projects.

According to the plan for the road sector, 2,000 kilometres of the North-South Expressway will be put into use by 2020. 654km of this is developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) format.

Vietnam is also formulating plans for the North-South high-speed railway to submit to the National Assembly in 2019. The Hanoi-Vinh and Saigon-Nha Trang sections will be developed first.

Several international airport projects such as Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Long Thanh, Danang, Can Tho, and Cam Ranh are being developed, while the expansion project of Tan Son Nhat International Airport has just been approved.

Vietnam will build a new 20-hectare terminal with the capacity of 20 million passengers at the southern end of the airport, next to the existing terminals. It is estimated to cost a total of VND18 trillion ($0.8 billion).

The area at the northern end of the airport would be used to build supporting structures, such as more cargo terminals and plane maintenance, logistics, and food processing facilities. These are good chances for foreign investors to co-operate and invest in this sector.

Long Thanh International Airport has officially selected the lotus design. This airport will cover 5,000ha with an investment of $16.03 billion to raise the capacity to 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo annually.