Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park is poised to become a hub for the development of advanced air mobility (AAM) services based on new partnership agreements with eVTOL aircraft manufacturer Volocopter and vertiport developer Skyports. Under memorandums of understanding signed at this week’s Singapore Airshow, the companies will explore options for using the 320-hectare Seletar site, which is already home to more than 60 aviation-related companies.
The Singapore Economic Development Board has indicated that the long-term master plan for the Seletar complex, which includes a commercial airport mainly served by business aircraft, will now emphasize AAM activities. Volocopter and other companies have indicated that eVTOL air taxi services could be launched in the country by 2024.
“AAM is an emerging area that presents strong growth opportunities for Singapore,” said EDB’s executive vice president, Tan Kong Hwee. “EDB is committed to ensuring that Singapore is well-positioned to capture these opportunities, through the creation of an enabling ecosystem in Singapore Aerospace Park that can support a wide range of activities such as manufacturing and R&D.”
Earlier this week, Volocopter published a report called The Launch of Urban Air Mobility in Singapore: a Roadmap, which projected that by 2030 the sector could generate S$4.18 billion ($3.1 billion) in accumulative benefits to the Singapore economy. The document proposed an initial network of four to six vertiports to support tourist flights over locations such as Marina Bay and Sentosa. Subsequent air taxi services using the German company’s all-electric two-seater VoloCity eVTOL aircraft and four-passenger VoloConnect model would provide flights to Changi Airport and cross-border trips to Malaysia and Singapore.
“The MOU signifies a concrete step towards our commercial rollout in Singapore,” said Volocopter chief commercial officer Christian Bauer. “We’re grateful to our forward-looking partners—the EDB and the JTC [part of Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry]—for embarking on this journey with us. Having manufacturing and MRO facilities in Singapore, coupled with the collaboration between industry partners, government agencies, and regulators, will enhance Singapore’s position as a top aviation hub and leader for the AAM industry in the region.”