China's biggest aircraft maker yesterday began construction of an industrial park in Beijing to develop key aviation technologies and serve the country's first home-produced jumbo jet.

The park, covering an area of 1.6 million square meters in the capital's Shunyi District, will be built in two phases. The first will cost 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) and generate 18 billion yuan in annual revenue on completion.

The park, to be developed jointly by the Aviation Industry Corp of China and the Beijing government, will house a series of aviation companies specializing in engines, composite materials and airborne systems.

AVIC general manager Lin Zuoming, said yesterday that the industrial park would become the country's key base for developing aviation technologies.

China is planning to have the maiden flight of its jumbo jet in 2014 with deliveries to customers in 2016.

AVIC also broke ground for an aviation engine base in the industrial park yesterday.

(Shanghai Daily July 30, 2009)