China's first regional airline operator, Huaxia, has joined hands with a military fighter plane producer to set up the largest regional airline maintenance base in the west China region.

The company has signed an agreement with the Guizhou Group of the China Aviation Industry Corporation I (CAIC I), a military aviation research and manufacturing group, to jointly invest 80 million yuan (10.7 million US dollars) to set up the new firm to be located at the Huangguoshu International Airport in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province.

The deal is still waiting for the final approval from the General Administration of Civil Aviation. The investors expect it to come off by the end of the year.

Established in September 2006, Huaxia now operates 20 regional air routes. Its fleet of imported CRJ-200 planes with 50 passenger seats have entered thorough maintenance period.

Shen Binglong, vice general manager of Huaxia airlines, told Xinhua that lack of feeder aircraft maintenance bases has become a bottleneck for the development of China's fledgling feeder aviation industry.

There are some 80 aircraft flying on branch lines in China and nearly half of them fly on routes linking mountainous regions in west China, where ground transports are not convenient. However, China only had several aircraft maintenance bases in metropolitans like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, said Shen.

Tan Weidong, board chairman and general manager of CAIC I Guizhou, said that it was the first time that the factory has entered general aviation field since it was founded more than 40 years ago. The company is qualified to maintain and manufacture commercial aircraft.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2007)