Promulgation of Alternative Revised Bill for Incheon International Airport Corporation
As the revised bills related to Incheon International Airport Corporation, which faced strong opposition in the Sacheon region of Gyeongnam, have been promulgated with alternative measures reflected, the continuous growth and vitality of Sacheon’s aviation MRO industry are expected.
According to Sacheon City on the 13th, the Incheon International Airport Corporation Act has been steadily amended since June 29, 2020, with a total of 10 amendment bills proposed by June 27 of last year.
However, on February 13, the law was promulgated only reflecting the management and operation projects of roads linked to Incheon International Airport and development projects in the surrounding areas of Incheon International Airport.
This is based on the opinion that it is necessary to further expand the scope of work of Incheon International Airport Corporation to actively utilize the technology and conditions of Incheon International Airport for surrounding area development projects, etc.
Additionally, it provides grounds to carry out management and operation projects of roads connected to Incheon International Airport to improve accessibility for airport facility users and ensure efficient operation.
However, the bills proposed in the 21st National Assembly to amend the Incheon International Airport Corporation Act, which included the direct execution of aircraft maintenance and aircraft handling businesses?key issues between Sacheon and Incheon?were effectively discarded.
The discarded bills included direct aircraft handling and maintenance operations by Incheon International Airport Corporation, support for projects necessary for the promotion of the aviation industry by the corporation, and projects prescribed by presidential decree.
Meanwhile, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), designated as an aviation MRO operator by the government in 2017, established Korea Aerospace Maintenance & Engineering Services (KAEMS) in July 2018 to specialize in the MRO industry.
KAEMS performs a wide range of services across various sectors and aircraft types, including medium maintenance of civil aircraft, maintenance of civilian, public, and military helicopters such as the Surion helicopter, military aircraft maintenance, performance upgrades, and modification projects, accumulating maintenance technology for 596 aircraft.
In particular, sales grew steadily from 18.5 billion KRW in 2021 to 37.5 billion KRW in 2023, marking a 103% increase, and this year, the market is expanding overseas (Japan, Philippines), continuing its steady growth trend.
Furthermore, Gyeongnam Province and Sacheon City are expanding the Sacheon Aviation MRO Industrial Complex in the Yongdang-ri area of Sacheon-eup with a project cost of 175.9 billion KRW. Korea Aerospace Maintenance & Engineering Services (KAEMS) also invested 248.1 billion KRW in the project.
Kim Jun-myung, CEO of KAEMS, said, “Based on the continuous support and cooperation of Sacheon City and Gyeongsangnam-do, we will expand the types of aircraft subject to maintenance and diversify our business areas to grow into one of Asia’s Top 5 total aviation MRO solution providers.”
Mayor Park Dong-sik stated, “We plan to closely cooperate with KAEMS and actively support the development and expansion of Sacheon’s aviation MRO industry to further strengthen the foundation for the growth of Sacheon’s aviation MRO industry.”
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