China firm to invest US$1.6bn in new plane engine

China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) will invest the funds in research and development of an "advanced" engine in the first phase of the programme that will last until 2015, the China Daily newspaper said.

Total spending on engine development by all the country's companies could top 100bn yuan, the official Xinhua news agency said.

AVIC already produces engines for smaller planes such as trainers and executive jets, as well as for military aircraft, the reports said.

The company hopes to offer a more advanced engine by 2025, Xinhua said, but gave no details.

"China now is fully capable of changing the situation with its overall growing strength," vice president of AVIC Zhang Jian was quoted by Xinhua as saying on the sidelines of the Zhuhai Airshow.

The initial goal was to ensure the air force was equipped with domestically developed engines in the "near future", China Daily said.

China is also developing a larger civil aircraft aimed at challenging the dominance of industry giants Boeing and Airbus, but that plane will use an engine made by GE Aviation and French aerospace group Safran.

The producer, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), has received another 50 orders for the C919. So far 380 planes have been ordered even though it has yet to get off the ground.

COMAC says the maiden flight of the C919 will take place in 2014 and the first aircraft will be delivered to customers by 2016.

The C919 will have up to 168 seats and a maximum range of 5,555km, putting it in direct competition with Boeing and Airbus in the medium-range sector which represents 70% of China's market.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge