GUANGZHOU Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Co (GAMECO) is to spend US$120 million on new facilities at the new international airport to be built in Guangzhou.
Bob Menke, general manager of GAMECO, said the company would consider new facilities for one or two other ''branch stations'' to cope with the rapid growth in demand for aircraft maintenance in southern China.
GAMECO, a joint venture owned by China Southern Airlines, Lockheed Aircraft Services International of the US and Hutchison China Trading of Hong Kong, is planning to triple capacity by the end of the decade.
The company currently operates a single-bay maintenance facility in Guangzhou that can accommodate one 747 wide-bodied new generation jet or two to three narrow-body aircraft.
The company plans a three-bay hangar at the new airport.
China Southern Airlines, one of China's fastest growing airlines, will operate more than 60 Boeing jets by the end of this year and expects to carry more than 10 million passengers this year.