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)