Lufthansa Technik Philippines bullish on Clark, on track with $150-M expansion

Aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) provider Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) is bullish for the coming years, specifically for its Clark operations, where the company is on track with its $150-million expansion which will eventually be able to cater to six aircraft.

According to LTP Finance and Strategy and Corporate Project vice president Stefan Yordanov, the company is banking on the Philippines’ location to boost its growth, and host its expansion plans moving forward.

“We are very confident that the Philippines is the right country for us to grow and our next stage, and at the moment, for us, Clark is the best location to grow due to numerous factors,” he said in an interview in Pasay City on Thursday.

“There is high complexity when we approach countries. We look at the people, we look at the particular airport, we look at the potentials, economical development, aviation traditions, aviation schools,” he added.

LTP, a joint venture of Hamburg-based Lufthansa Technik AG and Lucio Tan-led MacroAsia Corp., last year announced plans to build new hangars in Clark, noting that there is no more space close to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Yordanov said the project is set to push through in the coming months, with an expansion of some 200,000 square meters. The first phase will involve the capacity of two wide-body aircraft, with the second covering another four for a total of six aircraft.

“We consider growing our physical footprint, which means building new hangars in the airport of Clark to increase the size of our operations in the Philippines and serve our global customers as well as the local airlines,” he said.

“We expect to advance the project in the next months. We consider about one year, one and a half years, until the first stage of readiness,” he added.

LTP, along with venture capital fund Seedstars, on Thursday held their AI Innovation Startup Challenge, a competition seeking artificial intelligence-powered solutions for aviation MRO from startups across countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Israel. —RF, GMA Integrated News