The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) has signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with Skyports and Volocopter to explore ways the Seletar Aerospace Park – an Advanced Air Mobility (UAM) development hub – can support growth of the emerging UAM sector in Singapore.
According to a joint press release, the MOU with Skyports will draw on the vertiport developer’s experience of building take-off and landing infrastructure for air taxis, to explore ideas for the future development of Seletar Aerospace Park. This includes facilities like an air taxi vertiport terminal, airside facilities and hangarage, as well as facilities to support research and development (R&D) and pilot training.
The MOU with urban air mobility pioneer Volocopter will study the feasibility of developing facilities and resources in Seletar Aerospace Park to carry out manufacturing and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
With the AAM industry set to take off amid accelerating technological breakthroughs, Singapore is pushing ahead to grow the industry locally. Over the past three years, Singapore has been facilitating aviation innovation for the AAM industry by supporting trials for autonomous drones and eVTOLs. In 2019, Skyports and Volocopter showcased the first full-scale passenger air taxi vertiport prototype in Singapore, with a view to creating a network of vertiports and an initial commercial air taxi service in the city state by 2024.
EDB Executive VP Tan Kong Hwee said: “Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is an emerging area that presents strong growth opportunities for Singapore. EDB is committed to ensuring that Singapore is well-positioned to capture these opportunities, through the creation of an enabling ecosystem in Seletar Aerospace Park that can support a wide range of activities such as manufacturing and R&D. We look forward to partnering with companies like Skyports and Volocopter to grow the AAM sector here, to create good business and job opportunities for Singapore and Singaporeans.”
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