A Dutch aviation company specialising in painting and furnishing planes is relocating to Malta in a €22 million investment project that will create 80 jobs.
Aviation Cosmetics will move from Eindhoven, in The Netherlands, to the new €17 million aviation park in Safi, which Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi inaugurated yesterday.
The company will build two hangars at the park and set up a “specialised and dedicated facility” over 12,000 square metres, allowing it to service one Boeing B737 and a Boeing 747 or three Boeing 737s in one go.
Further details about the relocation and when the company will start operating will be announced soon and it is envisaged that most of the jobs will go to Maltese workers, who will also be trained at the company’s Dutch headquarters.
“This investment is testimony to Malta’s collective success in establishing a successful aviation cluster,” Dr Gonzi said in an address to private investors and industry stakeholders at Auberge de Castille.
More than 1,000 people are employed in the aviation sector, which has grown nearly 40 per cent in the past four years.
The country’s success was also highlighted in the report released last week by the International Monetary Fund, Dr Gonzi pointed out.
Malta remained attractive to investors with 130 projects over the past four years worth a combined investment of €320 million and the potential of creating another 3,400 jobs, he said.
Considered a “milestone” for the country, the Safi Aviation Park is spread over 200,000 square metres and was developed in phases to allow the companies within it, such as SR Technics, not to stop operations. The works included new taxiways, connecting its hangars to the runway for easy aircraft access.
The park is expected to continue attracting more investment.
One of the biggest VIP charter companies is in the process of relocating to Malta, creating 30 jobs and registering several private jets with the aviation registry that was set up in the drive to build the industry.
An agreement was yesterday signed between outgoing Malta Enterprise chairman Alan Camilleri and Tom Jansen, managing director of Aviation Cosmetics in the presence of Dr Gonzi and Finance Minister Tonio Fenech.
Mr Fenech said the company’s expansion to Malta would enlarge its market from Europe to customers all over the world.
Both Dr Gonzi and Mr Fenech thanked Mr Camilleri for his work as chairman throughout the years.