Airbus Helicopters, part of aviation giant Airbus Group and world's largest supplier of commercial helicopters, finalized an agreement on Monday to construct a state-of-the-art assembly plant in China.

The plant will assemble 100 H135 helicopters that will be sold to a Chinese consortium compromising of China Aviation Supplies Holding Company, Qingdao United General Aviation Industrial Development Company and CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co Ltd.

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The plant will be located in the Sino-German Ecopark in the coastal city of Qingdao and is likely to start operations in 2018. The assembly unit will have a capacity to produce 36 units of H135 helicopters in a year, the company said. At present H135 helicopters are mostly used in China for medical emergencies and police surveillance.             

The Chinese government is currently in the midst of opening up its low-level airspace to civilian aircrafts. This move has pushed the global aviation industry to look beyond private business jets and delve into the helicopter segment for growth.

"With the further opening up of the Chinese skies and the increasing growth in the civil and parapublic segments, China is gearing up to be the biggest market for helicopters in years to come," Norbert Ducrot, head of Airbus Helicopters China and North Asia region, said in a statement.

The Airbus helicopter deal was signed last year when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited in October. However, Industry analysts say that Airbus Group won't sign any fresh deals during Merkel's ongoing three-day visit to China. Merkel arrived in China on Sunday to mark her ninth official visit to the country.

TagsAirbus Helicopters, Airbus Group, china, China and Germany, Airbus China, china, H135 helicopters