JIANDE Aviation Town in Hangzhou - the capital of China's Zhejiang province - has concluded seven general aviation deals in the first quarter of 2019, attracting some CNY2.5 billion (US$362 million) of investment, according to an official with the town management committee.

The aviation town currently has 17 more projects in talks with total investment amounting to CNY45.85 billion, the official said.



Built on industrial remains left from the old Hengshan ferroalloy factory, the once industrial town in Hangzhou has transformed itself into a new growth engine with general aviation fuelling transformation.



Since establishment in 2016, the aviation town realised fixed-asset investment of CNY3.4 billion, including CNY2.6 billion of social capital. The aviation town now hosts settlement of 773 enterprises with main business revenue amounting to CNY7.13 billion.



In terms of transformation, Hangzhou based XIZI UHC brought its name forward when China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, the C919, conducted its successful maiden flight in 2017. As the only private enterprise on C919's supplier list, the once boiler and elevator making company now holds contracts with Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, AVIC and COMAC.



The city's Qiantang New District, a development area for aviation manufacturing, saw School of Aeronautics and Astronautics under Zhejiang University settle in to develop high-end aircraft technology. Its main team, led by professor Ke Yinglin, had previously developed 17 sets of aircraft automated assembly systems and two assembly pulsation production lines, providing strong technical support for the country's key military aircraft models.


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