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Since the first flight of the domestic large aircraft C919 developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) in Shanghai on November 2, 2016, the number of orders has risen rapidly, and has reached more than 1,200 units.
On the issue of production capacity, we are facing tremendous pressure and challenges. For this reason, the construction of the second assembly plant of C919 is regarded as an urgent event in the industry.
However, a recent news released by the civil aviation management department seems to have temporarily calmed down the dispute over the location of the second assembly plant.
The dilemma of "lack of production capacity" of the C919 large aircraft
As the first narrow-body passenger aircraft independently developed by the mainland, the commercial value of the C919 is self-evident. Its successful maiden flight opened the door for China to break the long-term monopoly of Boeing and Airbus in the large aircraft market, and is of great strategic significance to the country's industrial upgrading.
At present, the exact orders for C919 have reached more than 1,200 aircraft, and the customers cover the three major domestic aviation groups and a number of regional airlines. In 2023 alone, China Eastern Airlines expects to introduce 5 aircraft.
The problem is that Shanghai, as the first and only final assembly plant for C919, has a production capacity that has seriously failed to keep up with the pace of order growth. Taking the introduction of 5 aircraft by China Eastern Airlines in 2023 as an example, according to public information, the annual production capacity of the Shanghai assembly plant is about 10 aircraft.
Not to mention that the follow-up demand will further increase, and the introduction plan of major airlines will be doubled in 2024. It can be said that there is a huge gap between production capacity and market demand.
The construction of the second assembly plant is urgent
In response to capacity bottlenecks, industry experts have been calling for the launch of the second final assembly plant project as soon as possible. At present, many governments are actively showing their cards to COMAC, among which Xi'an, Chengdu, Shenyang and other cities are regarded as strong competitors by virtue of their good aircraft manufacturing base.
Once the second assembly plant is completed and put into operation, it will greatly increase the production capacity of C919. According to COMAC's plan, the annual production capacity of C919 is expected to reach 150 or more within 5 years, which can fully meet the needs of the potential market.
It can be said that the importance of the second assembly plant project to alleviate the pressure on production capacity and ensure the delivery schedule of C919 is self-evident. Otherwise, a final assembly plant in Shanghai alone will never be able to achieve the production capacity target.
The civil aviation department news quelled the dispute over the location
At a time when all parties in the industry have different opinions on the location of the second assembly plant, the civil aviation management department recently released a news that directly quelled the dispute of public opinion.
It is reported that a project in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, officially won the bid, with a total construction area of about 330,000 square meters, which is specially designed to meet the needs of C919 mass production.
As soon as the news came out, the outside world generally interpreted that in view of the ability of the new project in Shanghai to meet the five-year production capacity target of 150 aircraft, the site selection and construction of the second assembly plant can be temporarily shelved.
After the new production capacity in Shanghai is put into operation, it can help increase the delivery of C919 in the short term. This also means that the action of various localities to fight for the second assembly plant has now come to an end.
epilogue
Although the construction of the second final assembly plant has been put on hold, the project is still an inevitable trend in the long run. With the market penetration of C919 and its upgraded models, the production capacity of the second phase of the project will also face bottlenecks.
At this time, the site selection and construction of the second assembly plant became urgent. After all, C919 represents Chinese manufacturing and Chinese standards, and will eventually serve the global market and realize the great dream of China's large aircraft going to the world.