Opening of Lufthansa Technik hangars set for next April

Lufthansa Technik is expected to officially inaugurate its three new hangars in Malta in April and is planning to increase its workforce by another 200 by the end of next year.

Company chairman August Wilhelm Henningsen said Lufthansa Technik believes in its operation in Malta, as evidenced by the latest investment of €55 million in the new hangars and ancillary operations. Its plans for the near future include increasing the number of employees to about 700 by the end of next year.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi continued his three-day official visit to Germany yesterday with a trip to Hamburg, one of Germany's 16 states. There he met state government officials and later visited the Maltese consulate in Hamburg and Lufthansa Technik's headquarters.

As Dr Gonzi toured the headquarters, Mr Henningsen explained that, as promised, Lufthansa had already begun its operations from the new hangars in Malta although the official inauguration is set for April.

The construction of the new 60,000-square-metre facilities follows an agreement between the government and Lufthansa Technik last June and a €60 million joint investment, including €5 million forked out by the government.

The project involved building the three hangars and an administration block. Two hangars will accommodate wide-body aircraft, such as the Airbus A330 and A340, while the third will cater for smaller planes, such as the Airbus A320 and the Boeing B737.

Asked why the company chose Malta, Mr Henningsen said this followed a deep analysis that took into consideration various aspects, including the skills of Maltese technical people, a good command of the English language and very good support from the government.

He said the company continued to invest following the positive experience since opening in Malta in January 2002. Malta being a Mediterranean island and its close proximity to central Europe and North Africa were other reasons why the company chose Malta.

He praised Malta's highly-skilled workers saying that aeroplane maintenance is not simply a production process and the planes depend on the skills of its experts.

Dr Gonzi described Lufthansa Technik as a success story, which is a brilliant advert for the country with potential investors. He said his visit to the company's headquarters in Germany showed his appreciation for the belief they had in Malta.

Earlier yesterday, Dr Gonzi visited HafenCity, an urban regeneration project underway in Hamburg. Hafen, which means harbour in German, is a project, which when completed would have increased the area of the city centre by 40 per cent.

The project covers a massive 157 hectares and includes 5,500 homes for 12,000 people and business premises with a capacity of 40,000 jobs.

HafenCity's CEO Jurgen Bruns-Berentelg told Dr Gonzi the project revolves around the regeneration of the harbour buildings around river Elbe, which connects to the North Sea. This harbour is the second largest in Europe.

Dr Gonzi said there is keen interest in investment from German companies, especially in those areas considered as priority sectors in the Vision 2015. These include financial and maritime services, information technology and aircraft and ship registers. He said his meetings in Hamburg showed Malta is a competitive country and one which is considered as attractive for foreign investors.

Dr Gonzi and the Maltese delegation last night travelled to Stuttgart for the last day of the official visit.