Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Inc. said Friday it will build a new production line to make wing sections for Boeing Inc.'s planned 7E7 airliner in an investment maneuver reportedly expected to be worth 50 billion yen.
Mitsubishi Heavy, one of three Japanese companies that will together make about one-third of the new midsize fuel-efficient airplane, will reach a formal decision on when and where to build the new production line by the end of this year, said Hiroshi Ogata, a spokesman for MHI News, MHI's PR arm.
The line will likely be built on the grounds of a Mitsubishi Heavy factory in Nagoya, Ogata said. The factory now produces wings for an Air Self-Defense Force jet.
A Japanese newspaper reported Friday that Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Heavy expected to spend up to 50 billion yen on the project. Ogata said that figure was "speculative."
The fuel-efficient, 200-plus-passenger 7E7 Dreamliner is slated to compete with the Airbus A300 and A310 airplanes and replace Boeing's older 757 and 767. It formally went on sale in December and is expected to fly in 2008. (The Associated Press)