(Yicai Global) Feb. 15 -- Chinese  aircraft maker Zall Aerospace Group will join hands with Japanese  conglomerate Marubeni to build an airplane recycling company in central  China's Wuhan to tap opportunities in the growing Chinese aviation  market.

The two parties have entered a  partnership, Yicai Global's sister website Yicai reported yesterday,  citing a statement from Wuhan-based Zall. 

The Chinese aviation market has great  potential, and local airlines must raise their awareness of secondhand  parts, a relevant person in charge at Tokyo-based Marubeni told Yicai.  About 10 percent of Marubeni's large aircraft dismantling orders come  from Asia, and it hopes to increase that to 30 percent through the  partnership with Zall, the source added. 

China's civil aviation market has  maintained double-digit growth in the past few years, which also means  that the pace of retiring planes has risen from 100 each year to 200, Li  Xiaojin, a professor at the Civil Aviation University of China, said to  Yicai. 

Cities including Baotou and Tianjin have  invested in the construction of plane recycling facilities while that of  the northeastern city of Harbin spans 300,000 square meters with a  total investment of USD2 billion, claiming to be the largest of its kind  in the world. Recyclers are aspirational as a retired Boeing 737  aircraft has more than 1,200 high-value components.

Laws in the field entail loopholes so  airlines tend to use new parts to guarantee safety but the recycling  sector still has great prospects in China, Li said.

Developing countries lack the high  technologies required for reusing airplane parts, and developed  countries have high labor costs, but China has advantages in both  aspects, Li said, adding that potential customers include airlines in  Africa and Southeast Asia, as well as aircraft component manufacturers  at home and abroad.

Editor: Emmi Laine