Aircraft maintenance plan wins OK

The European Commission yesterday approved a joint venture between Mubadala Development Company and the US-based United Technologies Corporation on a military aircraft maintenance business in Abu Dhabi.

The regulatory approval helps pave the way for Mubadala, the strategic investment arm of the Abu Dhabi Government, to develop a home-grown aerospace industry that will take aim at customers throughout the region.

The joint venture will seek to tap into a regional market worth as much as US$4 billion (Dh14.7bn) per year to service fixed-wing and rotorcraft operated by regional air forces, including the F-16 fighter jet and Black Hawk helicopters.