US$1.6 bln spent on jumbo jet project
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, January 8, 2013
![Attendants on a mock-up of a C919 await visitors at Airshow China 2010 in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. China has invested more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) in its jumbo jet project that established headquarters and assembly lines in Shanghai last year. [File Photo]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20130108/001aa0ba3c161255b6da01.jpg "Attendants on a mock-up of a C919 await visitors at Airshow China 2010 in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. China has invested more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) in its jumbo jet project that established headquarters and assembly lines in Shanghai last year. [File Photo]") |
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Attendants on a mock-up of a C919 await visitors at Airshow China 2010 in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. China has invested more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) in its jumbo jet project that established headquarters and assembly lines in Shanghai last year. [File Photo] |
China has invested more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) in its jumbo jet project that established headquarters and assembly lines in Shanghai last year, city officials said Monday.
Part of the investment was in three companies responsible for assembly, engines and electricity system design for the C919 large passenger jet and the ARJ-21 regional jet, Ma Jun, chief engineer of the city's information technology commission, told local lawmakers.
Money was also spent on the construction of the fourth and fifth runways at Pudong International Airport that will provide a testing ground for the jumbo jet, Ma said.
The investment comes from both the central and the municipal governments.
Total investment for the domestic aircraft has been projected to top 200 billion yuan.
The jumbo jet program remains one of China's lead projects this year, Ma said.
The other project at the same level is an integrated circuit chip project that is costing the city 4.5 billion yuan, Ma said.
The jumbo jet project is not yet able to contribute to the economic growth of the city, mainly because it will take a long period before it can generate profits, he said. "These new strategic industries, especially jumbo jet manufacturing, will surely become pillar industries of the city, but need a period of time."
Meanwhile, the Shanghai government is to create more policies and incentives to attract professionals from across the world for innovative projects such as the jumbo jet, said Zhou Qiang, secretary general of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, the city's planning body.
The city's political advisory body, for instance, has suggested building low-rent houses for professionals from outside Shanghai.
The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China began building its new headquarters at the former World Expo 2010 site in Pudong in February last year, and it will be able to assemble 50 ARJ-21 regional jets annually by 2014 and 150 C919 planes by 2020, the jumbo jet maker has said.
The company's general assembly base is still under construction near Pudong airport and part of its assembly lines is due to be completed soon.
"Its research and development center in Zhangjiang High-Tech Park has been completed, while assembly and customer services centers in Pudong and Minhang are also near completion," said Jin Zhuanglong, the company's chairman.
All facets of the domestic jumbo jet process - from design to sourcing and production - will be done in China, as the project aims to reduce the country's reliance on overseas firms such as Boeing and Airbus.
The C919, with 150 seats and a flying range of 4,075 kilometers, already has 235 orders from more than 10 Chinese companies. It is due to make its first flight in 2014.
The ARJ21 has more than 200 orders, mainly from Chinese state-controlled companies. It has begun final flight test certification.
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