SELETAR Aerospace Park will feature an 11,000 square metre (sq m) development with green features, or a 25 per cent increase of standard factory units, when it is completed by 2027.

Named JTC aeroSpace Four (AS4), the development will offer “plug and play” or smart factory solutions for advanced aerospace manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities.

This will be the first standard factory at the Seletar Aerospace Park that will feature green infrastructure solutions, including an electric vehicle charging system, to support sustainability goals, JTC said.

Also, JTC AS4 will include solar-ready buildings and linkways, contributing to the total energy generated that could power JTC’s industrial developments and common areas at Seletar Aerospace Park as part of enhancing its current solarisation efforts.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, in announcing the development of JTC AS4 at the Singapore Airshow 2024 opening ceremony on Monday (Feb 19), said: “We completed construction of JTC aeroSpace Three in 2022… Demand has been so robust that we will be building JTC aeroSpace Four, to be completed by 2027.

“Seletar’s expansion will go hand in hand with developments in Changi, where passenger traffic at Changi Airport is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels this year.”

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JTC aeroSpace Three is a cluster of ready-built standard factories that lets aerospace companies tap smart factory solutions.

The buzz and energy around this year’s airshow is reflective of the strong global rebound of the aviation and aerospace industries, added Heng, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies.

“New aircraft orders have hit a five-year high of 3,850, an increase of more than 90 per cent compared to the previous year. Aerospace activities have ramped up in tandem – the global MRO market has grown 20 per cent year on year in 2023.”

Aerospace MRO is expected to grow 33 per cent by 2033, he noted.

Heng also announced that JTC and Enterprise Singapore have launched the Aerospace Open Innovation Challenge to drive innovation and partnerships in the areas of sustainability, productivity, and digitalisation within the aerospace industry.

Airbus, Bell Textron, Collins Aerospace, GE Aerospace, Jet Aviation, Singapore Component Solutions, and ST Engineering will launch 12 challenge statements in these areas to crowdsource ideas to address global aerospace challenges.

Industry leaders have committed to setting aside more than S$500,000 to support the co-development and piloting of solutions, providing the expertise and resources to nurture promising small and medium-sized enterprises and startups in the aerospace field.

The Singapore Airshow will take place from Feb 20 to 25 at the Changi Exhibition Centre. Over 1,000 companies from more than 50 countries and regions are taking part.