China To Finalize $22 Billion Aircraft Engine Development

China is planning to merge more than 40 companies working on plane engines into a mega group with $22 billion in assets.

China is keen to develop engines to power its own planes including the C919, Bloomberg reported unnamed people familiar with the proposal as saying Tuesday.

The government and companies including Aviation Industry Corp (AVIC), Commercial Aircraft Corp (COMAC) will invest an additional 35 billion yuan, they said.

China is keen to push its economy from labor-intensive work into more sophisticated sectors. The Made in China 2025 blueprint, released last March, cited aerospace as one sector the leadership hopes will help make China into an advanced economy along the lines of Japan and Germany.

Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, known as Comac, is developing the C919 single-aisle jet, which is expected to make its first test flight this year. CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation and a division of France’s Safran SA, will supply a version of its LEAP engine for the initial C919s.