Airplanes Africa assembles four planes in Morogoro
What you need to know:
- The plant, based in Morogoro, has so far managed to assemble four planes as it has the capacity to assemble aircraft for various purposes, including those for passenger transport, irrigation, and research.
Morogoro. Tanzania has made history by becoming the first country in the East and Central African region to have a modern plant for assembling aircraft of the Skyleader 400 and Skyleader 600 models.
The plant, based in Morogoro, has so far managed to assemble four planes as it has the capacity to assemble aircraft for various purposes, including those for passenger transport, irrigation, and research.
Speaking during a visit by a delegation from the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) to the plant, the Director of Airplanes Africa Limited, Eng David Grolig, said their priority is to provide quality services by utilising modern technology in aircraft assembling, despite challenges in sourcing parts.
Eng Grolig stated that they had been providing services in various countries worldwide, although they had not yet expanded significantly within Africa.
"Our strategy is not to invest in individual countries but to establish regional offices within the aviation sector across Africa. We aim to provide services to East Africa first and then expand to all parts of Africa," said Eng Grolig.
He said the presence of the plant in Tanzania is part of Africa benefiting from the services they provide.
However, he said there would be no centre for manufacturing aircraft parts, as there are only two countries in the world—China and Russia—that produce those parts meeting international standards.
The Aircraft Quality Assurance Engineer at Airplanes Africa Limited, Ms Lilian Jackson, revealed that six Tanzanians have benefited from the presence of the plant in the country by acquiring aircraft manufacturing skills through training in the Czech Republic.
"The presence of this aviation assembly plant continues to contribute to the development of local experts and positions the country on the global map as a new hub for aviation technology innovation.
Six of us as Tanzanians have already benefited," said Eng Lilian. Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) Executive Director Gilead Teri said the presence of the plant is a result of the government’s efforts to create a favourable investment environment, attract international investors, and facilitate the growth of strategic industries in various sectors to stimulate Tanzania's economy further.
Director Teri mentioned that the ongoing large-scale investments are yielding significant successes, with the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) registering 901 projects that have created over 200,000 jobs for Tanzanians.
