Bombardier on Wednesday marked the grand opening of its Melbourne service center at Essendon Fields Airport in Australia in a bid to increase the business jet manufacturer’s Asia-Pacific footprint. Once fully operational, the 50,000-sq-ft center will create 65 new jobs including 48 aircraft technicians.

A 4,000-sq-ft parts department is included in the new facility, which will provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, modifications, avionics installations, and AOG support for Bombardier’s aircraft family, including the recently introduced Global 8000.

“The addition of the Melbourne service center is the latest in a series of worldwide infrastructure investments aimed at enhancing Bombardier’s customer service capacity in line with our 2025 plan,” said Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel. “In the past year, we have added close to one million square feet of service capacity in several key locations, solidifying our plan to bring more Bombardier jets home no matter where they operate.”

Bombardier has more than 80 aircraft operating in Australia, representing 31 percent of the business fleet (47 percent of midsize and large business jets). The Melbourne center builds on the opening earlier this year of the airframer’s expanded Singapore service center, and grand openings planned later this year of an expanded service center at London Biggin Hill in the UK and a new service center at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in Florida.