Abu Dhabi’s aerospace ambitions took a concrete step forward this week as Sanad, the Mubadala-owned aviation services company, announced a AED 480 million ($130 million) aircraft engine Repair Centre of Excellence in Al Ain — a greenfield facility designed to position the UAE at the top tier of global engine maintenance.
What Is Being Built and When
The Repair Centre of Excellence will be established in Al Ain Region, consolidating advanced repair operations into a single integrated platform spanning all major engine platforms including the Trent 700, V2500, LEAP, GEnx, and GTF. Upon completion by 2030, the approximately 17,600 square metre facility will have the capacity to repair around 65,000 parts annually.
The announcement was made at Make it in the Emirates 2026. Upon completion, it will bring certain repair functions in-house to improve turnaround times, expand capacity, and support planned growth.
The Target: Become the World’s Fifth-Largest Engine MRO
The greenfield facility will accelerate Sanad’s trajectory towards becoming the world’s fifth-largest engine MRO provider. The company now serves over 80 customers worldwide, adding 24 airline customers in 2025 alone. Engine volumes are expected to more than double over the next decade, growing from 230 inductions in 2025 to over 500 annually by 2035.
Upon completion, it will establish Sanad as the only independent MRO in the MENA region with such repair capabilities and at this scale, reinforcing its competitive position regionally and globally.
Why Repairs Are Now the Defining Competitive Edge
Mansoor Janahi, Managing Director and Group CEO of Sanad, explained the strategic logic clearly: “Repairs are increasingly becoming the defining factor in engine MRO. Building these capabilities in-house is critical to how we scale, improve turnaround times, create in-country value, and deliver greater value to our customers. The Repair Centre of Excellence represents a decisive step in strengthening our global competitiveness and advancing our ambition to become a leading MRO provider worldwide.”
350 Jobs, Emirati Talent, and a Broader Aerospace Ecosystem
The initiative is expected to generate more than 350 jobs, with a strong focus on Emirati talent, and aligns with the UAE’s broader economic diversification objectives, supporting the localisation of high-value capabilities and deeper integration into global value chains. The development in Al Ain Region reflects a broader strategy to expand Abu Dhabi’s industrial footprint through purpose-built infrastructure, contributing to the growth of a dedicated aerospace ecosystem.
A Track Record Built for Scale
The investment does not come from a standing start. Sanad’s contracted backlog of customer work grew to AED 38 billion in 2025, with more than 1,000 shop visit commitments over the next three decades. In 2025, the company inspected more than 43,000 parts and repaired over 19,000 components, supporting 230 engines across five engine platforms.
For Abu Dhabi, the Al Ain facility is more than a single investment — it is a signal that the emirate is building aerospace capability from the ground up, component by component.
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