Aviation sector powers economy

The aviation industry has directly contributed Dh61.3 billion to the UAE's economy, which is around 6.3 per cent, said Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, in Abu Dhabi yesterday. "By the time you account for the catalytic effect in key sectors like tourism, this builds up to approximately 15 per cent, a contribution of nearly Dh150 billion," he said at the Global Aerospace Summit. Al Mansouri touched on the investments going into the expansion of infrastructure, including the Dh30 billion redevelopment of the Abu Dhabi International Airport, Shaikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre and Dubai World Central. "These elements are all part of a broader strategy to work towards designing and building a plane in Abu Dhabi by the end of the decade," Al Mansouri said. "What we need to move to the next stage is promote a culture of partnerships," he said, between private and public sectors. Today, Mubadala Aerospace has been making progress in achieving this through global aircraft maintenance operations, leasing offerings, a pilot training academy and investment in aerostructures manufacturing facility. Humaid Al Shemmari, executive director of Mubadala Aerospace, said having an investment unit in the various segments of the industry acts like a shock absorber to any international events that would affect the global industry. "We depend on the airlines because they're our primary clients. However, a volcano in Scandanavia would affect them and therefore affect us," he said. "So the manufacturing is closely related and it's very important."