BEIJING, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Aero Engine Services Limited (BAESL) -- Rolls-Royce's first aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) joint venture on the Chinese mainland -- commenced operations in the capital city on Wednesday.
At the facility's opening ceremony, the North China Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China granted BAESL its maintenance organization certificate. The first customer engine sent to the facility for maintenance was also displayed at the ceremony.
BAESL's main overhaul plant also opened on Wednesday, covering a total area of 59,000 square meters and featuring a range of state-of-the-art equipment.
Analysts say BAESL is set to fill a gap in the Chinese mainland's capability to overhaul high-thrust engines, including Rolls-Royce's Trent-family aircraft engines, and marks a milestone in China-U.K. cooperation on high-end aircraft engine maintenance.
From 2026, BAESL will start introducing overhaul capabilities for Trent 700, Trent XWB-84 and Trent 1000 engines, with capacity expected to ramp up to 250 overhauls per year by 2034, according to a press release on the official Rolls-Royce website.
"China is one of the largest and fastest growing wide-body markets in the world and is also key to Rolls-Royce," Paul Keenan, director of commercial aviation aftermarket operations at Rolls-Royce, said in the press release, adding that the opening of BAESL would support the company's long-term growth in the Chinese market as well as its goal to significantly increase its global MRO capacity.
BAESL is a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Air China. The contract was inked in 2022, with each company holding 50 percent of shares in the joint venture.
Last year, Rolls-Royce also expanded its joint venture in China with Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Co., Ltd., a Chinese internal combustion engine manufacturer, to address the country's fast-growing market.
