Ameco Beijing, a joint venture between Air China and Lufthansa, is to build the largest aircraft maintenance hangar in Asia.

The inauguration ceremony for the Airbus A380 maintenance hangar had already been held at Beijing's Capital Airport, China Business Times reported.

The hangar will cost 700 million yuan (US$87.5 million)and construction will be completed in March 2008 to cater for the demand generated by the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The hangar is situated in the northern part of the airport's terminal three and will cover 70,437 square meters.

It will be capable of handling the maintenance of six wide-body aircraft and four narrow-body aircraft simultaneously and at an annual rate of 11,500 aircraft, said the report.

Ameco Beijing (Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Corporation), founded in 1989, is 60 percent owned by Air China and 40 percent by Lufthansa.

Ameco Beijing General Manager Chai Weixi said China's aircraft maintenance market would grow on average 11 percent annually in the next five years.

He said Ameco would build another garage of the same size alongside the one under construction, saying the project had been approved by the board of directors.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2006)