China is a step closer to its goal of building a large passenger
jet by 2020 after final assembly work began on the ARJ-21, its
first home-grown regional jetliner, in Shanghai on Friday.
A company will be formed "very soon" for the large passenger jet
project, said Zhang Yunchuan, Minister of the Commission of
Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, who was in
Shanghai on Friday for a ceremony to mark the ARJ-21's final
assembly.
Also on Friday, a metals industry insider told China
Daily that a feasibility study for a new 3-billion-yuan
(US$384.6 million) factory is being carried out by three Chinese
firms on the production of 12-centimeter-thick aluminium panels to
be used in the manufacture of the large commercial aircraft.
The aluminium panels may also be exported, said the insider, who
did not wish to be named.
The ARJ-21 is a passenger jet with a seating capacity of up to
110.
Beijing said it would develop large commercial aircraft on March
18 via the central government's website, after the project was
called for by participants at the National People's Congress (NPC),
the top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Committee (CPPCC).
The planned large passenger jet would have seating capacity of
over 150, according to media speculation equivalent to the Boeing
737 and the Airbus 320.
Liu Daxiang, an NPC deputy and aviation expert, told China
Daily during the two national bodies' annual sessions that the home-grown large
passenger jet should be ready to take off by 2020.
The project will be developed by the two national aviation
industry corporations, AVIC I and AVIC II. The ARJ-21 was solely
developed by AVIC I, according to industry sources.
The development of the ARJ-21 may offer useful experience for
the development of future larger passenger jets, and "can be
counted as a milestone", said Wu Guanghui, the ARJ-21's chief
designer, at its Shanghai assembly line on Friday.
AVIC I reportedly plans to conduct the first test flight of its
ARJ-21 in March 2008, with the first delivery expected for
September 2009.
The Chinese jet procured 40 percent of its parts from 19 foreign
manufacturers, including General Electric, which made the
engine.
The company has received 71 orders for the ARJ-21 from domestic
airlines and aims to sell another five to the United States, said
Chen Jin, vice general manager of AVIC I's commercial aircraft
subsidiary.
The developer claimed the nation's return on investment was much
better than the world average. The ARJ-21 involved a total
investment of 5 billion yuan (US$641 million), while similar
foreign projects often require twice that figure. The jet is priced
at around US$27 million per unit.
China has demand for 500 to 700 regional jets over the next two
decades, said Chuck P. Nugent, general manager of GE's small
commercial engines department, on Friday.
And the large commercial aircraft market could expand further.
Airbus' latest forecast puts China in second place behind the
United States in both the number and value of jets needed between
2006 and 2025, with a market for 2,929 large aircraft worth US$349
billion.
(China Daily March 31, 2007)
