The figure is double that drawn at the 2006 Asian Aerospace show and addresses a key concern here in the two years since the show left Changi for Hong Kong: Whether the Singapore brand-name is bigger than the Asian Aerospace one.

The plum deal of the lot will be put in motion today, when the groundbreaking ceremony for Rolls-Royce's 8ha engine assembly and test plant is held at the Seletar Aerospace Park.

The engineering giant announced last year that it would invest about $320 million to make engines for large commercial planes like Boeing's Dreamliner in Singapore.

Three hundred and thirty people - mostly Singaporeans - will be hired for the plant, which will begin operations by the end of next year.

The Rolls-Royce project is a 'milestone' one for Singapore, said the Economic Development Board's (EDB) head of transport engineering Edwin Tan.

In addition to bringing in a world-class brand-name, it marks the first move away from manufacturing to higher skill and value-added jobs like engine design for the aerospace industry here.

Said Mr Tan: 'With companies like Rolls-Royce coming here, we believe that it will act as a 'queen bee' to bring in a lot of aerospace suppliers to supply to this facility.'

He added: 'It will represent a quantum leap in aerospace manufacturing output as well.'

Among the other deals to be unveiled this week are the opening of an aerospace composites plant by Nelco, a company which originated in the United States, and the official opening of ST Aero Engineering's new hangar at Seletar Aerospace Park, both on Thursday.

The announcement of the mega-deals by the EDB yesterday comes after almost two years of competition between the Singapore Airshow and Asian Aerospace.

The organisers of the latter event moved out after they could not agree with the Singapore Government on funding for the new site, and both sides have been competing for business, exhibitors and prestige since.

With the shows both claiming success since then, yesterday's announcement is the first real evidence that the Singapore Airshow is edging ahead in the high-stakes game.

The Airshow is also a hit with exhibitors: More than 800 companies from 42 countries, representing 59 of Forbes' top 100 aerospace firms, will display their wares from today in a 30ha space, which includes a 40,000 sq m indoor display area.

In comparison, the Asian Aerospace in September in Hong Kong last year had 500 exhibiting companies from 20 countries.

As technicians and workers scurried around the exhibition site yesterday putting the final touches for today's show opening, exhibitors The Straits Times spoke to say the Singapore Airshow will be the highlight of their marketing calendar.

India's Aeronautical Development Agency, which is displaying its light combat aircraft, said that the kind of trade participants the show attracts is a key factor.

Said a director of the agency, Mr P.S. Subramanyam: 'We had to choose just one place to showcase in the region, and we chose Singapore because of its location and pulling factor.'

Meanwhile, about 30,000 members of the public have bought tickets for this weekend's public viewing days. Organisers expect ticket sales to hit 50,000.

mariaa@sph.com.sg

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