Tronoh to Build First A380 Hangar

TRONOH Consolidated Malaysia Bhd said the RM360.8 million hangar it will

build for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will be the first purpose- built hangar

in South-East Asia for the giant Airbus A380 jetliner.

Tronoh told Bursa Malaysia Bhd on Wednesday that MAS awarded the

contract to build the hangar to its wholly-owned subsidiary Zelan

Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd and its consortium partners – Marubeni Corp and

Tokyu Construction Co.

Work the project is expected to begin on October 1 and scheduled for

completion by June 2007. MAS has ordered six A380 and expects to take

delivery of the first aircraft in the third quarter of 2007.

“Although many of the region’s airline companies have ordered the A380,

the KL International Airport will be the first to have a purpose- built

hangar to accommodate this double-decker, super jumbo. Zelan and our

partners are proud that we have won this bid against formidable

competitors,” Tronoh chief executive officer Albert Chang Si Fock said in

a statement yesterday.

“Winning this contract should also put us in serious contention for

other upgrading projects that are being planned by airports in the region

as they prepare for the launch of commercial flights by the A380,” he

added.

Among the Asian airlines that have ordered the super-jumbo are Emirates

Airlines, Qantas Airways, Thai Airways, Korean Airlines, Qatar Airways,

China Southern Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

The consortium officially named Zelan-Marubeni-Tokyu Construction

Consortium was formed in March this year to bid for the A380 Hangar

project.

With the latest contract, Tronoh’s outstanding order book is in the RM2

billion mark, most of which were secured in the current year.