The first Airbus A320 aircraft assembled in China is expected to be delivered in June, Mayor Huang Xingguo of Tianjin Municipality, the seat for the China assembly line, said in Tianjin on Monday.
A total of 11 such airplanes will be assembled at the Tianjin general assembly line, the first Airbus production facility outside Europe, in China's northern port city this year, said Huang, who is here for the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's legislative body.
Another 15 aircraft are scheduled to come off the assembly line next year, and orders have been secured for the next three years till 2012 and production has been planned till 2016, said Huang, also an NPC deputy.
The line is expected to deliver a total 286 airplanes by 2016, he told reporters.
Huang also said reports saying the country is canceling orders for 150 Airbus jets are not true. His comment came after Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said last week the reports are mistranslation of a Bloomberg report by a Chinese newspaper.
The Airbus A320 final assembly line in Tianjin was launched in September last year with a total estimated investment of 8 billion to 10 billion yuan (US$1.17 to US$1.47 billion)
It is the Airbus' third general assembly line. The other two are in France and Germany. The Tianjin facility is used for assembling A319 and A320 aircraft.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2009)
