Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg said the Sarawak-Airbus joint task force aimed to combine expertise within the industry through comprehensive collaboration and discussions with specialists to draft the roadmap.

“This initiative is expected to serve as a growth catalyst for the aviation industry, opening up new opportunities for the sector’s advancement on an international scale,” he said in a statement on Facebook today by the Sarawak Public Communications Unit.

He added that establishing the joint task force was one of six key areas of strategic cooperation agreed on by the Sarawak government and Airbus during his official visit to the Airbus Campus and the headquarters of turboprop aircraft manufacturer ATR in Toulouse, France, on Monday.

Abang Johari said Airbus would also partner with the Sarawak government to develop a 40.5-hectare site in the state as an aerotropolis, which would serve as an integrated hub to support the aviation industry ecosystem.

Both parties have also agreed to explore the use of sustainable aviation fuel, which is currently being developed in Sarawak.

The Sarawak premier said Airbus had agreed to collaborate with local institutions in the state, such as ICATS University College, to develop aerospace-related training programmes and curricula, aimed at nurturing skilled human capital for the aerospace industry.

In building the aerospace support industry ecosystem, Abang Johari said that Airbus would assist Sarawak in exploring the potential for manufacturing composite materials and gas-based synthetic leather, as well as avionics and instrumentation technologies based on artificial intelligence.

The collaboration will also include developing digital journey systems and flight services designed to integrate travel arrangements into a single digital package.