The aviation and aerospace industry will become one of Tianjin’s pillar industries,, with a host of new projects on the pipeline, a local official said.

“The aviation and aerospace industry is tending to grow into one of the important pillar industries of Tianjin. Some new projects are under discussion and negotiation between Tianjin and its potential partners within the aviation segment,” Tony Xu, vice president of Tianjin Binhai New Area Administrative Committee, told China Daily.

Tianjin is attracting more high-end aviation and aerospace projects with sound infrastructure, flexible policies and support from the Central Government.

The construction of China’s new-generation launch vehicle or the rocket carrier industrialization base, also one of this year’s key industrial projects, is in full swing in Tianjin.

Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), the country’s leading aircraft manufacturer, is jointly setting up a helicopter company in Tianjin with the local government.

Two helicopters will come out of the Tianjin helicopter facility within the year, Xu released.

In addition, seven Airbus A320 jetliners are simultaneously under assembly right now in Tianjin, with 11 others rolling off the Airbus Tianjin general assembly line this year, Ren Xuefeng, vice mayor of Tianjin, said.

Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo introduced earlier in March that another 15 aircraft are scheduled to come off the assembly line next year, and orders have been secured for the next three years until 2012, with production planned until 2016.

The first Airbus A320 aircraft assembled in Tianjin and China at large is expected to be delivered in June.

To bring in more similar high-end projects to Tianjin, the municipality will be hosting a high-profile international aviation and space exhibition, known as Aeromart Tianjin 2009, this month.

Scheduled to be held in Tianjin from April 20 to 24, Aeromart Tianjin 2009 has witnessed a record of 336 participating enterprises, with 203 from home and 133 from abroad, according to Xu.

“The exhibition is to serve a high-end platform for enterprises within the segment to exchange what they have and set up potential partnerships,” Xu stressed.

Aeromart Tianjin 2009 will open at the International Convention and Exhibition Centre of Binhai New Area in Tianjin on April 20.

This year’s Aeromart Tianjin is collaboratively sponsored by the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Business Conventions International (BCI) of France.

Over 300 well-known aerospace and aviation enterprises from China and abroad, such as Airbus, Boeing and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, are expected to participate in the exhibition. Governmental delegations from 12 nations, including France, Germany, the US and Canada, will also attend.

Aeromart was initiated by BCI and was successfully held in France for 12 years. Aeromart Beijing 2007 was the first time China hosted the event, which attracted more than 160 aerospace and aviation enterprises worldwide.

China Daily Tianjin Bureau