A ground-breaking ceremony is to be held later Tuesday to launch the construction of European aircraft maker Airbus' A320 assembly line in north China's port city Tianjin.

The plant in the Tianjin Binhai New Area, the first for Airbus outside Europe, is expected to start operating in August next year and have an annual capacity of 44 aircraft in 2011, sources with the project said.

The project includes assembly workshops, power stations, hangars and outdoor facilities. The main body of the assembly workshop will be completed at the end of this year.

Airbus will hold a majority 51 percent stake in the Tianjin assembly facility, while the rest will be held by Tianjin Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment Co., an entity comprised of investors such as Hafei Avaiation Industry Co. and Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry Co., both affiliated to AVIC Two, Tianjin Bonded Zone Investment Co., and China Aviation Industry Corp. One (AVIC One), the other leading Chinese aircraft maker.

"The contract regarding the joint venture of Airbus and Tianjin Zhongtian Aviation Industry Investment Co. will not be signed on Tuesday," said Gu Wei, a public relations worker of Airbus China. He declined to say when the contract would be signed.

The joint venture contract for the Airbus A320 final assembly line project had undergone 17 rounds of business talks and was expected to be signed in May, according to earlier reports quoting Zhang Jinwei, vice-director of the Tianjin Bonded Zone Administration.

Total investment in the project is estimated at eight billion to ten billion yuan (1.04 billion to 1.3 billion U.S. dollars).

Source: Xinhua