Indonesia wants to double its MRO capabilities over the next five years to absorb up to 60% of local aircraft maintenance work.

The country now only captures about 30% of the $850 million local maintenance market, with the rest of the business flowing out to foreign MRO operators, says Bambang Susantono, Indonesia's vice-minister for transportation. About 70% of the work done locally is carried out by Garuda Indonesia's maintenance arm GMF AeroAsia.

He adds that to double the country's MRO capabilities, Indonesia will need an additional 2,000 aircraft technicians and engineers. It will also need to build an aerospace park.

Indonesia first mooted the aerospace park idea in 2009, viewing it as a way to attract foreign aerospace investments.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news