Lufthansa Technik Malta invests €55 million in new facilities

Lufthansa Technik Malta will be investing €55 million in new maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for wide-body aircraft after signing an agreement with the government yesterday.

This expansion project aims to generate 550 jobs over five years and new training and development opportunities in aircraft maintenance.

Set up in 2002, Lufthansa Technik Malta is a centre of excellence for major overhauls of Boeing and Airbus narrow-bodied aircraft.

Since it was set up, it has carried out over 230 major overhauls, known as C-checks. The new facilities will also cater for D-checks, more commonly referred to as overhauls on wide-bodied aircraft, like the Airbus A330/A340 and the giant, double-deckered A380.

Lufthansa Technik Malta's chief executive officer, Louis Giordimaina, said the new hangar facility would cover an area of 27,000 square metres. It would be able to accommodate two wide-bodied aircraft and two narrow-bodied planes simultaneously and would include a number of workshops.

Work on the hangar, to be completed by October next year, is scheduled to start soon.

Investments Minister Austin Gatt, who presided over the signing ceremony, said Malta's university produced 120 graduates each year in the various engineering and technology specialisations. And for the next four years, the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) would be preparing over 600 students for higher engineering diplomas.

Lufthansa Technik Malta, the minister said, would need 500 new employees in the next few years and it had undertaken to maintain this employment level for six years or pay penalties in the unlikely event of default.

He said MCAST had immediately reacted to this need and - aided by Lufthansa Technik Malta's knowledge, European funding and flexible government coordination - new learning and career opportunities were being made available.

Andreas Heizner, senior vice-president, aircraft base maintenance, and a director on the board of Lufthansa Technik Malta, said the island had already established itself as a reliable maintenance, repair and overhaul centre thanks to its performance.

Lufthansa Technik Malta employs 160 full-time staff and has over 50 apprentices following courses at MCAST. Earlier this year, over 50 students started courses. Other training programmes are planned for September.

The agreement was signed by Dr Heizner and Mr Giordimaina on behalf of Lufthansa Technik Malta and by Malta Enterprise chairman Alec Mizzi on behalf of the government.