Three Chinese companies have formed an alliance to team up with Airbus for assembling A320 jets in north China's Tianjin Binhai New Area by 2008.The alliance named Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment Company, will set up a joint venture with the European aviation giant.The three partners in the newly forged alliance are Tianjin Bonded Zone Investment Company, China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) and China Aviation Industry Corp II (AVIC II).The Chinese assembly line project will consist of four parts: assembly workshops, paint shops, testing areas and a flight test facility.But, no figures were available about the cost of the project, Xinhua news agency reported.Preparatory work for the project - including infrastructure planning, recruitment and equipment procurement - is underway.It is expected that construction of the assembly line project will begin before the end of the year. The first aircraft from the Tianjin assembly line will be delivered in 2008 and the plant will be able to produce four jets a month by 2011.Tianjin, the largest port city in north China, was chosen in August to house Airbus' first aircraft assembly plant outside Europe.In early June, the central Chinese government announced its plan to create a new economic zone at Binhai, 50 kms from downtown Tianjin, that will aim to compete with the Pearl River Delta in the south and the Yangtze River Delta in the east.
