Airbus Asked to Manufacture Aircraft Components, Tyres in Indonesia

Indonesia has asked Airbus to manufacture aircraft components in the country in order to make optimal utilization of the raw materials available in the country.

"We requested Airbus to plan and produce aircraft components with Dirgantara Indonesia (Indonesian aerospace manufacturing company) and urged them to make their aircraft tyres here," Antara quoted Indonesian Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan as saying during a meeting with Airbus President of Asia-Pacific Jean-Marc Nasr on Monday.

"Some car tyre manufacturers such as Michelin, Dunlop and GT, carry out their production activities in Indonesia, and a lot of our raw rubber had been optimally utilized in the production," he added. The minister also said that he's unsure of how much investment Airbus will be needing to complete the task.

"They are still conducting some calculations for the production cost, number of components that can be produced here, and the investment value for the aircraft tire industry. Later, we will also offer them some cooperation with our aircraft manufacturing companies," he revealed.

Pandjaitan also encouraged Airbus to immediately cooperate with local airline companies in the aircraft maintenance business."The two Indonesian local airlines- Lion Air and Garuda Indonesia would like to work together for the maintenance of their Airbus 320 aircraft" he stated.