$50 Million Investment in Helicopter Manufacturing Venture, UAE

The Dh183m manufacturing facility will be based in Umm Al Quwain, an emirate in the UAE.

Quest Investment is pumping Dh183 million ($50 million) into the new enterprise. A new manufacturing plant will be developed on a 40,000 sq m plot in Umm Al Quwain, according to Yousuf Al Ansari, CEO of the new Quest Helicopters.

The helicopters will retail at $2.95 million each, and are aimed at the growing needs of VIPs, security agencies, police surveillance units, emergency response and humanitarian teams as well as the oil field supplies market in the region.

The prototype helicopters were designed by Ukraine's Volodymyr Udvenko and will feature a new series of engines built in the Ukraine. "The long life airframes have been engineered for robust operations, and feature a raft of cutting-edge technologies. These include an all-new primary fly-by-wire control system, a distinctive ejectable crew and passenger safety capsule cabin and a telemetry downlink maintenance monitoring system," said a Volodymyr Udvenko spokesperson.

Al Ansari stated, "We want to bring in the latest technology available in the market that will help create value to the overall aviation industry in the region and create employment for young Emiratis."

The Quest AVQ series will be the first civil helicopters to be manufactured in the UAE, and is currently in the design and development stage. Al Ansari anticipates that, "The helicopter will enter into the flight testing process from 2013 and we expect it to enter into commercial production by 2014."

The plant in Umm Al Quwain will have the facilities to assemble 50 helicopters a year, and the project is expected to generate new jobs from the end of 2012. It is one of many aviation industry ventures that are establishing UAE as an aviation centre in the Middle East.

According to Ajay Chaukulkar, chief executive of Sharjah-based Aerostar, "The opportunities in the region's aviation industry are numerous and there is no reason why investors should not take advantage of them by investing in aviation companies."

Jaguar Land Rover to Produce Highly Efficient Engines in Staffordshire

After an 18-month tendering process, the i54 development site in Staffordshire has won the bid for Jaguar Land Rover’s new £355m advanced technology low emission engine plant.

The plant will be on the 220 acre business park, part of the newly created Enterprise Zones, and will join companies like Moog, Goodrich Actuation Systems, HS Marston Aerospace, and Tinken UK.

The new Jaguar Land Rover site will cover 130,000 sq m and incorporate two linked buildings consisting of a machining hall, assembly hall and ancillary offices. The construction of a new £36.7million Council-funded slip road from the M54 motorway to the site is also part of the deal and ready to commence.

"As part of our long-term strategy for the JLR business, we will design, engineer and manufacture a new family of advanced engines,” said Dr Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer at Jaguar Land Rover. “This is a major commitment for our company and we will produce these advanced, highly-efficient engines for future Jaguar and Land Rover models at a new facility in the UK.”
JLR will invest £1.5 billion annually on new product developments for the next five years, expanding their engine range and further exploiting the global potential of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. “The all-new family of 4 cylinder engines will increase JLR's capability to offer high performance engines with class-leading levels of refinement, whilst ensuring continued significant reductions in vehicle emissions," added Dr Speth.

In addition to the site being a boost to the UK manufacturing industry, it will also create nearly 1,000 jobs. Councillor Ben Adams, cabinet member for economic growth and enterprise, said, “One of the key components of our offer as a destination for Jaguar Land Rover was the graduate workforce from our universities in Staffordshire and the wider region.”

Mike Wright, Executive Director at JLR, added, "I would like to pay tribute to the strong support we have received for this project from our key partners. The constructive and collaborative support we have received from the Government, our trade union colleagues, Local Authorities, local MPs, and of course our employees, has been crucial in enabling us to reach this very significant decision."

Major New Development Opportunities, Central Paris

Rare investment opportunities have just been opened up in Paris. Thanks to the local Public Development Council (PDC), Orly-Rungis Seine Amont, two huge areas – 300 hectares each – have been identified for complete redevelopment over the next few years.

The developments have ‘National Interest’ status and are Government backed. This provides comfort to potential investors by giving certainty to the planned infrastructure. It also means legal fast tracking for projects, assisted by the fact that the PDC comprises representatives of the State, the Paris region, the Val de Marne sub-region and 12 local districts.

Les Ardoines

The first development zone, Les Ardoines, centres around a new biotech cluster. Pharmaceutical giants, Sanofi-Aventis have already established operations there, employing 1700 researchers. This large mixed-use development offers investment opportunities in specialist biotech facilities, as well as high-tech industrial, commercial and housing. This will eventually amount to 2,800,000 sq. m. floor space, with the first phase (2011-2020) of 650,000 sq. m. comprising 310,000 sq. m. commercial space and 343,000 residential. There is also the as yet unexplored river freight potential of the location.

A big draw to investors will be the unrivalled accessibility of the Ardoines area. It already boasts two train stations, both to be redeveloped. One of them will become part of the new Paris Expressway, and will link Les Ardoines with La Défense and Charles de Gaulle International Airport.

Orly-Rungis

The second area designated for redevelopment is Orly-Rungis, with five million sq.m of floor space to be developed. The area combines the Orly airport area and the Rungis fresh food cluster – the biggest wholesale fresh food market in the world. Orly airport provides business connections across Europe and within France. It receives 25 million passengers annually and still has high growth potential.

The Orly – Rungis development zone will become an “international gateway” for Paris. New planned infrastructure includes a high speed (TGV) station at the airport for 2020, an intermodal urban carriageway, with integrated tramway.

One of the centrepiece developments at Orly-Rungis is a new 82,000 seat rugby stadium with international conference centre, planned for completion in 2017. Other many and varied projects at this mixed-use development will provide investment opportunities for office space, commercial  premises, housing and 15 hectares of parkland, with a focus on biodiversity.

Orly-Rungis is especially attractive to investors as a development area, due to the large number of people passing through the area. Apart from those using the airport and food market, the Belle Epine retail park is the biggest shopping centre in continental Europe, with 20 million visitors a year and growing.

The PDC will help identify funding and support planning applications for investment in Ardoines and Orly-Rungis. The Orly-Rungis Seine Amont PDC will be at Expo Real, Munich, in October.

For further information, please contact richard [@] edpa.biz, tel 44 (0)207 183 7681 or mobile +44 (0)7880 733 138.