AVIC to invest 10 billion yuan in engine R&D

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) plans to invest 10 billion yuan to focus on the development of high-performance aircraft engines during the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

"This will be our biggest independent investment," Lin Zuoming, general manager of AVIC, said on April 11.

Currently, only four countries in the world, namely the United States, Russia, Britain and France, can independently develop advanced aircraft engines. The only shortcoming of China's aviation industry is the engine, Lin said.

According to sources, the research and development cycle of each type of engine will be five to 10 years and the investment payoff period will be as long as 30 years.

The AVIC established the AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engine Company at the beginning of 2009 to produce engines for the domestically-made large aircraft C919.

By People's Daily Online

	Weekly review