A Boeing factory in China will be set up based on the Boeing-COMAC deal signed in October 2016. According to official media reports, the factory intends to make 100 Boeing 737 planes per year.
The U.S. aviation giant and the Chinese aviation manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC) partnered to construct a Boeing 737 completion center in Zhoushan.
The construction will begin by the end of March and is planned to make its first delivery in 2018, according to a Xinhua news agency report.
The factory will be the first Boeing overseas facility. It is a part of the company’s 737-production system, designed to supply 100 Boeing 737 planes annually.
The facility is Boeing’s response to forecasts on China’s demand for 6,910 new aircraft in the next 20 years. The cost of the aircraft is around $1 trillion.
In a report released last September, Boeing said that China would be the world's first trillion-dollar aviation market in the period of 20 years.
An assembly line factory has already been established by Airbus, a French plane manufacturer. The Airbus facility is located near Beijing.
In 2016, Airbus delivered 153 aircraft to Chinese operators. The company had more than 100 deliveries for seven years in a row.
Flight entertainment systems and seats will be installed in the 737 aircraft to be completed in the Boeing factory in China. The plant will also provide coating and repair and maintenance services for Boeing aircraft.
The facility will be comprised of the 737 completion center and the 737 delivery center. The former is a joint venture of Boeing and COMAC while the former is solely owned by Boeing.
The Putuoshan Airport in Zhoushan is expanding to accommodate the aircraft manufacturing and to qualify as an international airport. The budget for the project is 750 million yuan ($108 million).
The aviation base will also create an entire aircraft manufacturing chain. By 2025, the industrial chain will have the capacity to assemble, deliver and modify 600 aircraft annually.
The Chinese aviation industry expects growth with the Boeing-COMAC deal and the construction of the Boeing factory in China.