City leader says opening of Aircraft Engineering Training Centre is 'major step', adds hub will create 'better-paid and high-skill jobs'
Hong Kong's leader has vowed to turn the city into a leading Asian hub for aircraft recycling and parts trading, with a new locally based training centre set to offer four aviation technician courses next year.
The Aircraft Engineering Training Centre was jointly launched on Thursday by the Airport Authority's Hong Kong International Aviation Academy and French aeronautical services company the Elior Group, a subsidiary of the Derichebourg Group.
Attending the launch ceremony, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the opening of the training centre marked 'a major step' towards the city's ambition of becoming Asia's leading aircraft recycling and parts-trading centre.
'Together [with Elior], we have what we need to build a flourishing regional service supply chain, one that captures the full aviation life cycle,' Lee said.
'This will create jobs. They will be high-value jobs, better-paid and high-skill jobs.'
The event was Lee's first major public appearance in Hong Kong after his three-day annual duty visit to Beijing, which included a closed-door meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and two other members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China - the leadership's highest decision-making body.
lior Group Chairman and CEO Daniel Derichebourg said that rapid growth in aviation services meant that the global demand for aeronautical services had soared.
He added that the group aimed to build a supply chain of services addressing the full aviation life cycle.
'We chose Hong Kong as the starting point for our expansion in Asia, rather than Singapore - I'll mention this because it's important - [as Hong Kong] has an exceptional business environment and has close connections with mainland China,' he said.
'Hong Kong, [with] its prime location in Asia, holds immense potential to develop into an aeronautical services centre for China and the region.
'We are also investing in other sectors such as food and beverage. All of our investments reflect our confidence in this city and its bright future.'
Base on this background, the Aircraft Value Management International Forum 2026 will be held on March 17th-18th, in Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China.The forum will focus on the construction of civil aircraft full life-cycle management system, and how to develop the most optimal plan for the disposal of aircraft assets according to their usage. The representatives are expected more than 200 who are from the CAAC, customs, airlines, leasing companies, OEMs, aero-engine OEMs, maintenance companies, asset price evaluation agencies, banks, law firms, and other units.