China's first home-grown large passenger aircraft is set to roll off the assembly line this year.

This was announced by the Chinese-government backed airline manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corporation (COMAC).

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The company will build the C919, which has a capacity for 168 passengers.

Comac reports it has already received 450 orders for the C919 from 18 customers.

China's local manufacturers have already delivered to COMAC  the plane's vertical fin and rear fuselage.

C919 is scheduled to undergo the first test flight later this year.

Buyers expect the first fleet to arrive in their hangars in a matter of three years.

With the production of the C919, Beijing hopes to join the elite group of countries that are engaged in selling large commercial jetliners.

COMAC wants the aircraft to compete with other narrow-bodied, medium-range commercial planes, such as America's Boeing 737 and Airbus 320/321.

Some of the C919 aircraft will have a seating capacity of 186, while others will be able to bring on board 156 passengers.

On the medium term, COMAC expects to heavily rely on China's robust domestic market for customers.

It is likely to offer a competitive price for the aircraft.

With an estimated development cost of $8.3 billion, COMAC reportedly plans to produce 5 to 10 planes every year, beginning in 2016 and 2017.

Optimism now fills the atmosphere in COMAC's production plant.

This is in contrast to the atmosphere in the site twelve years ago, when COMAC completed its first project, the twin-engine ARJ 21.

ARJ 21 was a smaller twin-engine plane that was meant to compete with the aircraft manufactured by Brazil aerospace conglomerate Embraer and the Canadian multinational aerospace and transport firm Bombadier.

But delays marred the launching of the ARJ 21.

It was only a month ago when it was able to secure a certification from the Civil Aviation Authority of China.  

TagsC919 Planes, Comac Planes