BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The State Council, China's cabinet, is currentlydeliberating a major aircraft engine research and development project, sourcesrevealed Thursday.
The project will require an investment of at least 100 billion yuan (about 15.93 billionU.S. dollars), a professor at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics(BUAA) with knowledge of the project told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The investment would be used mainly for research on technology, designs andmaterials related to aircraft engine manufacturing, the professor said.
The project is currently going through approval procedures in the State Council, and itmay be approved shortly, the professor said.
Participants in the project include Shenyang Liming Aero-Engine Group Corp., AVICXi'an Aero-Engine (Group) Ltd. and research institutes, including the BUAA, he said.
"At present, China's aircraft engine design and manufacturing have weak links in termsof materials, key parts, manufacturing equipment, processing precision andmeasurements," according to another source with the BUAA who is also involved in theproject.
Although the country is capable of producing aircraft engines, product performance isinadequate and mass production cannot be realized, the second source with the BUAAsaid.
Guangda Securities, a brokerage firm in China, said Wednesday in a report that thecountry will need around 3,000 aircraft between now and 2026. This will create demandfor some 6,500 aircraft engines worth 65 billion U.S. dollars.