LANGKAWI: More than RM4 billion in deals have been struck during the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition 2019 (Lima’19).
It represents a slight increase from the previous edition two years ago at RM3.8 billion.
The vast majority of the deals involved the government, in particular the Defence and Transport ministries.
A total of RM3.67 billion worth of procurement contracts were signed in a ceremony today, a large amount of which was for the purpose of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for existing strategic defence assets.
Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said the MRO contracts were to ensure that the country's current security and defence readiness are at optimum level, even while the government continues to consider the procurement of new strategic defence assets, taking into account current technological advancements and non-traditional security threats.
“As you can see, our focus this time around was towards MRO.
“We are not focusing yet on the procurement of assets,” he said after the signing ceremony.
Asked whether this year’s deals were more than the previous edition of Lima in 2017, Mohamad reiterated that the focus was more on MRO services, but he said he was satisfied with the amount.
“Looking at the amount (of contracts signed), it is quite encouraging.”
In addition to the government contracts signed during the ceremony, some RM500,000 worth of agreements and memoranda of understanding were inked among companies throughout Lima 2019, thus bring the total to just over RM4 billion.
At the signing ceremony, seven procurement and industrial collaboration programme contracts between the Defence Ministry and various companies were inked, witnessed by Mohamad.
Meanwhile, six MoUs were exchanged, of which four were witnessed by Transport Minister Anthony Loke and two by Mohamad.
The ceremony also saw the handing out of eight letters of intent (LoI) and 10 letters of acceptance (LoA).
The contracts signed were with Global Komited Sdn Bhd for the supply, delivery and commission of Starstreak Air Defence System; Boustead DCNS Naval Corporation Sdn Bhd for the refit of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s two Prime Minister class submarines; Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace for the provision of surface-to-surface missile launching systems and related services for the RMN’s second generation patrol vessels with littoral combat ship capability; and, Kongsberg again for the supply of the missiles.
Contracts were also signed with Zetro Sdn Bhd for the maintenance and recovery of air traffic control radar systems and Qiblatin Synergy Sdn Bhd for the supply of high explosive 30mm rounds and tracer rounds and target practice 30mm rounds and tracer rounds for the RMN.
Meanwhile, MoUs were signed between Politeknik Banting and the nation’s two biggest airlines, Malaysia Airlines Bhd and AirAsia for strategic collaboration and on job training, respectively.
Other MoUs included one between Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and International Green Training Centre and between Universiti Malaysia Pahang and Bintulu Port Authority.
The National Defence University of Malaysia, meanwhile, had an MoU with Boustead Heavy Industry Corporation Bhd for a collaboration on maritime technology, and another with Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence for research and development of defence and safety products.