South African Minister of Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, says he has directed the board of state-owned aerospace and defence technology conglomerate, Denel, to develop a long term Africa-centric growth strategy which will involve Denel Aviation collaborating with fellow parastatals, SAA Technical and SA Express Technical. The move falls in line with the Ministry's goal of developing Denel into a global player in the defence industry and to become a preferred supplier and prime contractor for the Department of Defence’s large programmes as well as for the African Continent. 
According to Mr Gigaba, the strategy will take into account Denel's advanced manufacturing capabilities while utilising the Department of Public Enterprises' other aviation assets namely SAA Technical, SA Express
Technical and Denel Aviation. Overall, the long term objective is to develop "a World Class MRO
business" based out of Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport. The project will also hinge on the planned development of Johannesburg ORTIA's Ekurhuleni Aerotropolis plan.“To that effect, we’re looking at synergies between different State-owned companies on a number of programmes that might ignite collaborative efforts that might develop engineering and manufacturing capabilities,” he stated.
The
other opportunity is on Supplier Development obligations associated
with the SAA fleet renewal plan which will contribute to the expansion of Denel’s
aerostructures, engineering and maintenance capabilities.
However, the Minister stated that there are currently no plans to merge the three entities claiming the notion was still "far-fetched.”
Denel Aviation specializes in military and civilian MRO operations with emphasis on fixed wing and helicopter, as well as for mechanical, composite, avionics, electrical and oxygen system components and for ground support and test equipment. SAA Technical (SAAT) has more than 700 technical staff providing line maintenance services to South African Airways and a large number of international airlines. These services are provided at Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban and some other centres. SA Express Technical is responsible for servicing SA Express' fleet and is also involved in the 3rd Party MRO business.
