The Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, or the WHDZ, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Kunlun Commercial Aircraft and Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) on Nov 28 to carry out retrofitting of Boeing 777 passenger aircraft into cargo aircraft.
Officials sign a strategic cooperation agreement for retrofitting Boeing 777 passenger aircraft into cargo aircraft on Nov 28. [Photo/WeChat account of the WHDZ]
It is estimated that investment in the project will be over 10 billion yuan ($1.51 billion) and that production capacity will be reached in two years, at which time the number of aircraft modified will be 120 per year.
Currently, there are more than 1,500 Boeing 777 plane available, which is sufficient for the modification project.
"Due to the good conditions that Hannan General Aviation Airport possesses, we are confident that it will be the most advanced base for modifying Boeing 777 into cargo aircraft," said Yosef Melamed, vice-president of IAI, adding that he hopes that the project will help promote the development of Wuhan's aviation industry.
Officials discuss the implementation details of the passenger aircraft modification project. [Photo/WeChat account of the WHDZ]
Earlier this month, Wuhan successfully held the World Fly-in Expo. Officials of the WHDZ said that after the expo a group of renowned aviation enterprises turned their eyes to Wuhan.
"To date, 26 general aviation and satellite industry projects have settled in the zone with a total investment of over 80 billion yuan," they said.
The Boeing 777 is currently the world's largest dual-engine wide-body passenger aircraft. Its service life will be extended to more than 14 years after modifications for cargo.
IAI, Israel's largest state-owned defense and aviation industry company, has a world-leading position in the field of aircraft, ship, network technology, satellite and passenger aircraft modification.
Officials reach an agreement for retrofitting Boeing 777 passenger aircraft into cargo aircraft on Nov 28. [Photo/WeChat account of the WHDZ]
Officials attending the signing ceremony included Peng Hao, director of the administrative committee of the WHDZ, and Chen Changfei, Zhang Dehua and Huang Yuanfeng, heads of the Hannan district.
