China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) I, a state-owned company, on Tuesday forecast that China's aviation industry would need more than 3,000 civil aircraft in next 20 years.

 

A report released by AVIC at the China international aviation and aerospace exhibition in Zhuhai said the industry would require 3,110 more civil aircraft, including 2,230 large jetliners and 880 feeder aircraft.

 

Taking into account decommissioned aircraft, the industry is expected to have 3,370 aircraft by the end of 2025, including 2,470 large jetliners.

 

The report said passenger volume will see an annual increase of 8.6 percent and will exceed one trillion person kilometers by the end of 2025.

 

China's air transport industry is expected to develop faster than the world average. In 2005, its air transport volume ranked second in the world.

 

Stimulated by a booming economy and a growth in tourism and international trade, passenger volume will see an annual increase of 8.6 percent in the next 20 years, said the report.

 

Cargo volume will come to 60 billion ton-kilometers by the end of 2025, an annual increase of 10.7 percent.

 

The forecast included companies in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

 

Established in 1999, AVIC I manufactures a range of aero products, including military, transport and reconnaissance aircraft, turbojet and turbofan engines, air-to-air missiles and ground-to-air missiles.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2006)