Lufthansa starts building new MRO facility in Clark

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s biggest aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider has kicked off the construction of a new facility in Clark, a project that could generate as many as 1,200 jobs in high-paying positions.

Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) has started laying the groundwork for the new maintenance facility at the Clark International Airport, a project that would cover more than 157,000 square meters.

LTP president and CEO Holger Beck said the project would generate at least 1,200 jobs, with LTP committing to hire workers from Central Luzon to support employment in the region.

The project will be divided into two phases, with the first to be completed by 2028. The first part of the base can handle up to two widebody aircraft as big as the Airbus A380, the world’s largest jet.

Afterward, LTP will put up the second phase, likely to be completed in three to four years. Beck said the segment can repair six widebody units at the same time, giving local carriers Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific a closer base to provide for their MRO needs.

Beck said the base maintenance project is covered by a 25-year lease, extendable by another 25 years, as LTP sees Clark’s potential to become an aviation powerhouse in Asia-Pacific.

He said with the logistics network of Clark, hosting cargo flights for courier giants FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Services Inc., their services would be helpful to LTP in flying in aviation parts needed quickly to repair aircraft.

LTP, owned 51 percent by Lufthansa Technik AG and 49 percent by Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia Corp., is the country’s crown jewel in the aviation industry for MRO capabilities.