Aerospace firm AIDC vying for COMAC 919 contracts

“If we are awarded contracts to manufacture and design parts of the airplanes, it would be a great benefit to Taiwan's 55 aerospace-related companies,” said Shung Yeou-kuang, chairman of Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC).

AIDC, established in 1996 under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, focuses both on military and commercial aerospace businesses, including manufacturing and refit of military aircrafts, OEM and ODM of commercial aircrafts and engines.

Established in 2008 in Shanghai with the aim to build large commercial aircraft to reduce the country's dependency on Boeing and Airbus, the Chinese government-owned COMAC has announced a commercial aircraft development project, called Comac 919.

It is planning to build an up-to-190-seater C919 and have it ready to be rolled out in 2014, take its first flight in late 2014, and enter into service in 2016.

The project has attracted the attention of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus, as well as large jet engine manufacturer GE, and such companies are trying to vie for contracts, Shung said.

Rebutting some legislators' concerns that as the main fighter jets manufacturer for Taiwan's air force, AIDC's participation in the Comac 919 project could pose threats to Taiwan's national defense, Shung stressed that his company has developed mature technology in aircraft structural designs and there should not be worries about leaks of its core national defense technologies.

Shung said, however, his company will not do business with Chinese companies without the government's approval.

“Everything has to go with the government policies,” Shung said.

The AIDC has filed a proposal with the MOEA to participate in China's project. The proposal was handed over to the Executive Yuan for review, Shung said.

If the AIDC gets government approval and is awarded the Comac 919 contracts, it will be the first time the aerospace firm will do business in China.

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