Core parts of the first airplane to be made on the Airbus A320 general assembly line in Tianjin were transferred to the Binhai New Area in July.

A number of aeronautical companies have been set up in Tianjin since the A320 project landed. The development of an aviation industry chain has been accelerated by a better civil aviation industry technology platform.

Tianjin Binhai New Area Aviation Industry Park (also referred to as Aviation City) is a key part of the Binhai New Area. Aviation City is adjacent to the Tianjin Outer Ring Road and has a planned area of 102 sq km. Aviation City is set to become a modern ecological industry park focused on aviation logistics, the civil aviation industry, an aeronautical fair and scientific training for the civil aviation industry.

Aviation City will be divided into six areas - an airport operation and guarantee area, an aeronautic training and research area, a civil aviation technology industrialization base, an airport process park, an airport logistics park and an airplane repair area. The nation's only comprehensive aviation university, the Civil Aviation University of China, will provide technical support to Aviation City.

A320 project

Aviation City has been in the pipeline since 2005. The Tianjin Free Trade Zone and China Aviation Industry Corporation I and II signed a framework agreement with Airbus in October 2006 to set up the A320 General Assembly Line in Tianjin.

The assembly line is Airbus' first outside the European continent. As the largest and most advanced aircraft manufacturer in the world, Airbus' rallying power is strong enough to attract a complete network of industries.

Eleven aeronautical companies have since gained a foothold in Tianjin and 30 more aviation industry projects are under discussion, 10 of which are complementary with the A320 project. The Aviation Industry Park is currently taken up by aircraft assembly, parts manufacturing and airplane maintenance.

In April, the industry park began work on a site within the Tianjin Airport Industrial Park, backed by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The first stage of construction will include an R&D center of 40,000 sq m and an industrial factory of 100,000 sq m.

More airlines are pouring into Tianjin as the aviation industry expands, according to an Aviation City spokesperson. Tianjin's plane passenger numbers have risen from 1 million in 2003 to an estimated 5 million this year. That figure is expected to double to 10 million by 2015.

Aviation City includes services in the areas of R&D, scientific training, air transport, tax-free logistics, commercial exhibitions and aviation repair and maintenance.

Industry chain takes wing

The A320 assembly line project has given impetus to the development of Tianjin's aviation industry chain and is drawing an increasing number of aviation companies. Tianjin now has a complete aviation industry chain, with aircraft manufacturing the core industry, aviation leasing and air transport the backbone, combined with aeronautical R&D, manufacturing, logistics and financing.

The Tianjin Airbus A320 general assembly line went into operation in August. Sichuan Airlines is expected to take delivery of its first aircraft in 2009. By 2011, the assembly line will be producing four aircraft a month and it will employ more than 600 people.

The Airbus A320 project received State Council approval to set up in the Tianjin Binhai New Area in May 2006. The project includes general assembly, spray painting, adjustment processing and test flights. It takes up 600,000 sq m, covering seven sub-projects such as a general assembly factory, spray paint workshop, power station, aircraft storehouse, assembly equipment, an outdoor facility and infrastructure.

Airbus, along with the National Development and Reform Commission, has been conducting field surveys in Tianjin, Shanghai, Xi'an and Zhuhai since the end of 2005 to select a site for the project before it settled on the Tianjin Binhai New Area.

On October 26, 2006, the Chinese and French presidents witnessed the signing of a cooperative framework agreement between the two parties in Beijing. The Tianjin Airbus A320 assembly line is the first of its kind outside Europe.

Geographical advantage

Tianjin was selected for its geographical advantage: Binhai New Area is located at the center of Bohai Bay Rim, linking north, northeast and northwest China. At the start of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), the State highlighted "promoting the development of Binhai New Area", as it tried to make Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) more competitive on the world stage and tackle the economic imbalance between north and south.

The Binhai New Area is trying to become an R&D and technology transfer hub, and the Airbus A320 assembly line is evidence of this orientation.

Construction began on the assembly line factory on May 15, 2007. Tianjin became the fourth city in the world to own a trunk-line aircraft assembly line after Seattle in the United States, Toulouse in France and Hamburg in Germany. The Airbus CEO said at the facility’s opening ceremony that the standard of aircrafts to be made and delivered in China would be the same as in Europe.

For now, Tianjin's A320 line is running smoothly and the team is preparing to assemble the factory's first aircraft.

Airbus expects to manufacture 247 aircraft in China by 2015, all of which will be sold within the country. Aircraft made after 2015 could be sold in nearby regions or countries.

Civil aircraft manufacturer Airbus was established in Toulouse, France, in 1970.