Chinanews, Beijing, Mar. 23 – The jumbo plane research project became one of the much discussed topics at the just concluded NPC and CPPCC annual sessions. Zhang Yunchuan, director of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND), recently said on a public occasion that China would soon kick off its jumbo plane project. However, he also said that detailed issues of the project, such as key technologies, staff, project location and commercial use of the plane, had not been decided yet. An unidentified expert on aerospace industry said the location of the project had been set, CCTV international channel reported.
He said that Sichuan, Shaanxi and Shanghai were all once possible choices with regard to the project location.
The State Development and Reform Commission and COSTIND were reportedly said to have submitted the jumbo plane development program to the State Council. It was said that according to the program, the project manufacturing base will be located in Nanchong in Sichuan, where passenger planes with over 150 seats and military airfreighters with a loading capacity of over 20 tons will be produced. The project will involve a total investment of 200 billion yuan.
However，it seems that Shaanxi Province won't let the chance go, either. At present, the Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group, which belongs to the No. 1 China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC I), the Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group, which is subordinate to AVIC II, and the Hanzhong Aerospace Industry Group, are all located in the province. The Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group and the Hanzhong Aerospace Industry Group are co-producers of the Y8 freight planes, which are the largest multi-use, mid-range transport airplane ever made in China.
Yet the news that the project will settle in Shanghai is very much talked about among the people. It is said that the related report about the project was approved by the State Council at a work meeting held at the end of last February. It is said that in this report, the project’s research and development center will be located in Shanghai.
By 2020, China will produce 1,600 airplanes for main passenger lines, whose total value will be 150-180 billion US dollars. By 2050, the number of airplanes running on trunk lines will increase to at least 3,000. When feeder airliners and civilian airfreighters are included, the total value for these planes will be some 350-400 billion US dollars.
