KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has announced the formation of a Sustainable Aviation Energy Task Force to reduce carbon footprint in the aerospace industry.
MITI senior minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the task force will provide policy recommendations and coordinate the implementation of public-private partnerships at the national level, including the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Malaysia.
“This new task force will gather feedback on the industry’s behalf to mitigate collaborations between the public and private sectors to develop and direct the national aerospace movement, which includes the participation of local industry players.
“This is to enable the SAF target to be met because we want this initiative to be a priority for a set period of time, in line with Malaysia’s goal of becoming a carbon-neutral country by 2050,” he told the media after the MyAERO’22 opening ceremony here today.
He said the task force comprised members from the government and private sector including the Malaysia Aviation Group, AirAsia and Petronas.
Mohamed Azmin said the efforts will enable Malaysia to become a pioneer in the aerospace industry to use green technology to contribute to a cleaner and safer environment.
“Malaysia Airlines commenced its maiden flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore using SAF technology on June 5, 2022, and it is a success for the national carrier to be involved in green technology initiatives such as this,” he said.
In his opening speech, Mohamed Azmin said the Malaysian aerospace industry has been on an upward trajectory to help position the country as a regional powerhouse and play an integral role in the global aerospace industry supply chain.
Last year, the industry recorded RM104.7 million worth of investments, total trade of RM13.84 billion, and revenue of RM12.2 billion.
“RM2 billion worth of work packages were awarded to the local aerospace industry involving RM600 million worth of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) expansion projects which are expected to be implemented by the fourth quarter of this year.
“At last month’s Farnborough International Airshow, Malaysian companies secured RM572.6 million worth of business deals,” he said.
Mohamed Azmin noted that the government remains committed to facilitating the growth of the aerospace industry with the introduction of various initiatives currently being implemented under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“MITI will focus on three broad areas in terms of policy direction and strategic initiatives in the near term, namely trade and sustainable development, supply chain resiliency, and human capital development,” he said.
At the MyAERO’22 event, Mohamed Azmin witnessed memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremonies between Spirit Aerosystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), as well as between SeniorAerospace UPECA Aerotech Sdn Bhd and UTHM to collaborate on academic and educational initiatives.
An MoU was also signed between Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka on the creation of an industrial lab to conduct aerospace composite development activities.
