AVIC aims for Uganda Airlines CRJ MRO contract |

As western airframers elbow each other to meet Uganda Airlines' near-term fleet requirements, Chinese aviation infrastructure major Aviation Industries Corporation of China (AVIC) is pursuing a different strategy. AVIC is instead seeking to unseat SAMCO Aircraft Maintenance Netherlands as the MRO provider for the carrier’s fleet of Mitsubishi CRJ-900s. A Chinese delegation was in Uganda recently to meet Uganda Airlines management. However, instead of pitching the ARJ-21 as had been largely anticipated, AVIC instead submitted proposals for taking on maintenance of the CRJ-900s. Details of AVIC’s proposal were not immediately available. Still, Uganda Airlines has said it, on average, spends $3 million annually on maintaining its combined fleet of CRJs and Airbus A330-800. Maintenance is outsourced to SAMCO Aircraft Maintenance Netherlands for the CRJs, while South African Airways Technical is responsible for the A330-800. The current status of the service contracts is not known. Uganda Airlines has been seeking to set up its in-house maintenance capacity and is in the process of qualifying for Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) certification from sector regulator Uganda Civil Aviation Authority. Sources could not confirm whether AVIC is a partner in the Ugandan AMO. “We have the internal capability to carry out our own maintenance because there are many Ugandan engineers and technicians qualified on the aircraft types we operate that want to return home and also many qualified people in the region to carry out the tasks,” Uganda Airlines chief executive Jenifer Bamuturaki told media back in 2021. She added that the AMO was essential because it would “open up opportunities to Ugandan youth” who train as aircraft technicians. AVIC has a towering profile on the African aviation infrastructure scene. The company recently completed the 627 guest-room second phase of the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa. The contractor, who has in the past built a maintenance hangar for Ethiopian. is also prime for Ethiopian Cargo’s e-commerce hub that is under construction. That is in addition to the new airport in Luanda, Angola, and new terminals at Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Lusaka, Harare, and Maputo.

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