Recently, the 2013 China International General Aviation Conference concluded in Xi 'an. This conference achieved a signing amount of 22.9 billion yuan and traded 106 general aircraft. Industry insiders say that the development of the aviation industry is based on the development of multiple disciplines and specialties, involving multiple industries such as metallurgical engineering materials, instruments and meters, mechanical processing, and electronic technology. It is concentrated in a certain region and forms an industrial system with a complete upstream and downstream structure and strong external support, which is an important way to promote the expansion of the aviation industry and drive the development of related industries. This will also bring a promising market space to the steel industry.

The development prospects of general aviation are promising

At present, civil aviation in China is mainly divided into two categories: commercial aviation and general aviation. General aviation refers to the part other than commercial aviation that uses aircraft for operational passenger and cargo transportation. According to the introduction, China currently has 178 general aviation enterprises, 1,610 registered general aviation aircraft, and 399 general aviation airports and temporary take-off and landing points. It is estimated that the total flight hours this year will approach 600,000, an increase of about 8% compared with last year.

At the aviation equipment and materials exhibition site, a wide variety of general aircraft, helicopters, light aircraft, and aviation equipment and materials of different models and uses were all on display. A total of 46 projects were signed at this conference, with general aircraft manufacturing projects and aircraft trading projects accounting for 40% of the total signed projects. Among these projects, there are 9 general aircraft manufacturing and maintenance projects, with a signed value of 1.935 billion yuan. There are 7 general aviation park construction and operation projects, with a signed value of 8.76 billion yuan. There were 14 equipment manufacturing projects, with a signed value of 5.875 billion yuan. Seven infrastructure projects were signed, with a total value of 6.086 billion yuan. Nine aircraft sales contract projects were signed, with 106 aircraft traded and a contract value of 254 million yuan. Among the 106 aircraft traded, 36 were sold by Shandong Bin 'ao Aircraft Manufacturing Co., LTD., 51 by German Light Aircraft Company, and 6 rotorcraft by Xi 'an Zhonglian Aviation Technology Co., LTD. Among the signed domestic-funded projects, there are four major fields covered: aviation parts manufacturing, aviation new materials, general aircraft manufacturing, and general aviation services.

The development prospects of general aviation have been highly regarded by the industry. According to statistics from the China Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, as of July 31 this year, in addition to the 10 national-level aerospace high-tech industrial bases approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, 116 cities at or above the county level in China are either building or planning to build general aviation industrial parks.

Luo Baihui, chief researcher of Jinmo Steel Network, pointed out that in recent years, China's general aviation market has been heating up continuously. It has great development potential and a long industrial chain. There are more than 140 related industrial categories, which play an indispensable role in driving economic development. With the gradual opening up of low-altitude airspace, general aviation will become another rapidly rising sunrise industry following trunk aircraft and regional aircraft.

In terms of airport construction. In the future, a large number of second - and third-tier cities in China with unsaturated aviation services will become a huge increment, and investment in airport construction will further accelerate.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, 56 new airports were built, 16 airports were relocated and 91 airports were renovated or expanded in the construction of civil aviation infrastructure in China. Most of these airport construction projects are located in the central and western regions. The western region will build the Southwest Airport Cluster, Northwest Airport Cluster, Northern airport Cluster and Central South Airport Cluster, with Kunming, Urumqi, Hohhot and Nanning as gateway hub airports respectively. In the next ten years, the four major airport clusters in the western region will have 102 airports, among which 47 will be newly built, accounting for nearly half of the national planned total.

Typically, for every 1 billion yuan invested in airport construction, over 10,000 tons of steel will be consumed. Luo Baihui said that if the investment in airport construction in China during the 12th Five-Year Plan period is calculated at 250 billion to 300 billion yuan annually, it will drive the consumption of steel by 2.5 to 3 million tons each year, not including steel processing products such as fences. In addition, airport construction involves various types of materials such as steel bars, plates, profiles and pipes. However, airport construction is different from ordinary buildings and has higher technical requirements for steel. Relatively speaking, domestic steel mills with the capacity to produce high-end products are mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal provinces. The production capacity in the western regions is clearly unable to meet the demand. Eastern resources can seize this opportunity to "move westward".

In terms of aviation investment. The aviation investment fever in the central and western regions is becoming a "gold mine" for well-known domestic and foreign enterprises, and the steel industry is no exception. In the middle of this year, Yunnan Harmony General Aviation Company was jointly reorganized and established by Kunming Iron and Steel, Shengyi Investment and Harmony General Aviation. In the newly established company, Kunming Iron and Steel holds 40% of the shares, while the other two each hold 30%. It is learned that the three cooperating parties plan to invest 20 billion yuan, and this sum of money will be contributed by the three cooperating parties in proportion to their equity. Based on this calculation, the investment amount of Kunming Iron and Steel is around 8 billion yuan. After the reorganization, Yunnan Harmony General Aviation will expand its fleet from the current one to more than ten aircraft within the next three to five years. At the same time, it will also connect the upstream and downstream of the industry, engage in the construction of general airports and aviation operation business, introduce advanced foreign aircraft manufacturers to produce general aircraft, and develop aviation service industries including aviation funds, flight training, and aircraft maintenance.

In recent years, the state has successively introduced a series of supportive policies to promote the development of the general aviation industry. China's general aviation industry has now entered the best period of accelerated development. However, it should also be noted that the overall industrial chain of general aviation in our country has not yet been fully formed, and relevant policies, regulations and supporting facilities for guarantee still need to be further established and improved.