Construction was officially started yesterday on the Xi'an Yanliang State Aviation High-tech Industry Base in Shaanxi Province, a move that demonstrates the importance the country is placing on the development of its aviation industry.

The base got the official go-ahead from the National Development and Reform Commission on August 11 last year.

It is the only State-level high-tech industry base for aviation research and development, training, aviation equipment production, complete aircraft manufacturing, spare parts processing, and aviation service, according to Jin Qiansheng, deputy director of the base's administrative committee.

"The base will rely on and make full use of the rich aviation resources in Shaanxi Province, to strive for its 2010 targets," the deputy director said.

The targets include: reaching a yearly aviation output volume of 20 billion yuan (US$2.42 billion); greatly upgrading the level of aviation engineering; cultivating 10 key aviation enterprise groups and 1,000 related corporations to form an industrial chain; establish a technological and innovation system with industrial characteristics; build up a batch of key projects with individual intellectual property rights; and form complete and functional services, Jin said.

The base is being constructed in Yanliang, an aviation industrial district some 50 kilometers northeast of downtown Xi'an, where large-scale aircraft manufacturing firms, an aviation research institute, aircraft test institute, aircraft test pilot college and aviation technical schools are concentrated.

According to Jin, the base will cover a total area of 244.4 square kilometers and will consist of two parts: the core zone and the expansion zone.

The core zone is planned to occupy an area of 40 square kilometers, of which 11.28 square kilometers have been completed, and with the support of the enterprises and research institutes now extant in Yanliang, the core zone will serve as the center of aircraft design, manufacturing, and test flight appraisal, Jin said.

The expansion zone refers to the province's central area, mainly engaged in the research, development, and production of aircraft on-board equipment and installation, the deputy director said.

Shaanxi Province is China's premier aviation industry base with more than 100 aviation research, design and production organizations as well as some 750 aviation-related institutes, companies, manufacturers and colleges, said Chen Deming, governor of Shaanxi Province.

Heavily involved in the base's construction is Xi'an Aircraft Industry (Group) Co Ltd, based in Yanliang. The firm was China's first aviation company in the industry to go public and is also the country's largest aircraft company.

It began co-operating globally in 1989, producing spare parts for foreign aircraft manufacturers including Boeing and Airbus and by 2001, had delivered 4,000 various parts to Boeing and other international manufacturers, according to Gao Dacheng, general manager of the firm.

Shaanxi provincial government is working closely with the base, and Xi'an municipal government is providing preferential fund, land use and tax policies, Chen said.

(China Daily March 25, 2005)