The investment company Markab Capital, headquartered in Dubai, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Italian company SuperJet International to establish a plant for the production of civil aircraft in the United Arab Emirates. This is reported by the Gulf News publication.
The publication does not report the type of aircraft that is planned to be built in the UAE, however, given that UAC through its subsidiaries owns 90 percent of shares in the joint venture with Italian Leonardo-Finmeccanica (formerly Alenia Aermacchi) SuperJet International, it will be the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 in the basic version. The credibility of this assumption is added by the recent proposal of the UAC to localize and manufacture a Russian regional aircraft in India.
The plant, the construction of which is scheduled to be completed in 2025, is the first of its kind in the Arab world, where civil aircraft will be assembled and manufactured, Abdullah Al Kubaisi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Markab Capital Company, commented on the signing of the agreement. Where exactly the new aircraft factory will be built is not reported.
According to him, the volume of investments in the new plant is 180 million US dollars, and the production capacity of the first stage will be from 10 to 15 aircraft per year. The increase in production capacity will be considered in the future based on requests for aircraft.
Al-Kubaysi said that the UAE has succeeded in producing components for aircraft and is entering a new era in their construction, which makes the Emirates a leader in the Middle East and North Africa region and will compete in the international aviation market in the near future.
The UAE has two centers for the production of components for aircraft — Strata and Sanad. Strata, based in Al Ain, manufactures components for aircraft and has contracts with Boeing, Airbus, Leonardo in Italy and Swiss Pilatus Aircraft.
Sanad was formed in 2019 after the state—owned holding company Mubadala merged its three divisions - Sanad Aerotech, Sanad Powertech and Sanad Capital. The company provides financing, leasing and maintenance services for the global aerospace, energy and industrial sectors.
Established in July 2007 and based in Venice, SuperJet International is responsible for marketing, sales, preparation and delivery of Superjet 100 aircraft in the European and American markets, as well as in Oceania, Africa and Japan. The company provides training and after-sales support for Russian aircraft outside of Russia, participates in the design and development of the Sukhoi Business Jet and its cargo variant.