A Chinese-made ship, designed to carry massive parts for the
Airbus A380 superjumbo, will be delivered to the aircraft maker,
Airbus Industrie, in April.
The French-based company, one of the world's two biggest
commercial aircraft makers, also said it is considering inviting
more Chinese aviation firms to participate in the A380 program
which began in 2000.
"The Airbus headquarters has already dispatched a team to China
to evaluate the aviation industry here and later it will submit
proposals on what kind of opportunities will be offered to Chinese
companies," said Executive Vice President Philippe Delmas, who was
in Nanjing on February 27 to attend a naming ceremony for the
roll-roll ship.
The ship, produced by Nanjing-based Jinling Shipyard, will be
the first vessel used by Airbus to carry components from its
factories around Europe to the assembly plant in Toulouse.
The plane maker used to carry parts on its freighters but some
parts of the double-deck A380 are too large for aircraft to
carry.
Airbus senior executives said if they decide to build a second
roll-roll ship, the order will very likely go to the Jinling
Shipyard.
Airbus said it would increase its procurement value in China to
US$60 million annually by 2007 from the current US$10 million a
year.
The potential cooperation programs under discussion include
making long-range aircraft horizontal tail fins with Shanghai
Aircraft Manufacturing Factory and producing single-aisle fuselages
with Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.
Airbus will deliver the first A380 passenger aircraft, priced at
US$250 million, to launch customer Singapore Airlines in 2006 and
the first A380 freighter will be delivered to FedEx in 2008.
The A380, which Airbus hopes to beat its arch-rival Boeing 747
with, can carry 555 passengers. So far, Airbus has received 129
firm orders and options for the A380 plane, but the 11 customers do
not include any airlines from China.
(Eastday.com February 29, 2004)