Chongqing has been working on its general aviation industry, liangjiang.gov.cn reported.
CGAI, known as Chongqing Helicopter Industry Investment Company before 2011, has a registered capital of three billion yuan. Its businesses include airplane R&D, aviation manufacturing, general aviation operations, aviation training, maintenance, and service and security.
CGAI acquired Enstrom Helicopter Corporation in 2012. CAFUC Chongqing Aviation Training Company was co-established by the Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) and CGAI in the same year.
So far, the training company has recruited over 50 students. The recruitment and training are now carried out on a regular basis.
“Actually, Chongqing’s general aviation industry is not developing as fast as we expected,” said Gong Wei, general manager of Chongqing General Aviation Industry Group. “Getting an airport is a problem. It costs around 30 to 50 million yuan to build an airport,” he went on to say.
By 2020, Chongqing will establish a network for general aviation airports that covers the entire municipality and establishes a sound general aviation supporting system. It will be a cluster that combines aircraft R&D, education and training and operational safeguards.
John Edwards, the UK trade commissioner for China, praised Chongqing over its rise as a burgeoning center in intelligent manufacturing.