Boeing's new 737 completion plant in China will aim to deliver 100 planes a year, China's official Xinhua news agency has said.
Boeing is about to build its first overseas plant – in China.
The joint venture with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China will complete 737 planes constructed at its Renton, Washington, factory in the US.
Two thousand Chinese workers will install the aircrafts’ interiors and paint the fuselages.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said the aim is to turn out 100 planes a year, with the first expected to be delivered next year.
'
Boeing</a>'s first overseas factory will be built in China's Zhoushan. First delivery expected in 2018 <a href="https://t.co/n5pFBqIvSf">https://t.co/n5pFBqIvSf</a> <a href="https://t.co/nfFucv2Cct">pic.twitter.com/nfFucv2Cct</a></p>— China Xinhua News (XHNews) March 13, 2017
Xinhua reported that work will start on the plant at the end of March, in a fast expanding industrial aviation park in the coastal city of Zhoushan.
It is being built as Boeing forecasts that China will need more than 6,800 new commercial airliners over the next 20 years.
Airbus</a> bullish about China's demand for widebody aircraft, fueled by fast-growing long-haul international routes<a href="https://t.co/lr3tDCXlG1">https://t.co/lr3tDCXlG1</a></p>— k.srinivasan (cruisingheights) February 24, 2017
The move is in line with increased global sourcing of aerospace parts and supplies.
The US planemaker and its European rival Airbus are fiercely competing for orders in China. Airbus already has two final assembly plants in the country.
China is also working on a homegrown commercial airliner – the C919.
China's answer to Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 to make debut flight #aviação#inglêshttps://t.co/ImkloNLXio
— Fly High English (@FlyHighEnglish) February 26, 2017
Chinese passenger #plane to rival Boeing and Airbus tipped to be in skies by July https://t.co/x99LH6y4oR#China
— Mary_Chen (@LanguagesRFun) February 22, 2017
