(NSI News Source Info) HONG KONG - June 6, 2009: Shipbuilding experts from Eastern Europe have confirmed that the People's Republic of China will start to build its own aircraft carrier this year, as preparations for the project are complete.
The experts had visited the No. 3 military dock of the Changxing Island Shipyard -- the new location of the Jiangnan Shipyard, known as the cradle of China's defense industry -- based in Shanghai, where they acquired exclusive photos of the interior of the shipyard. From these it can be deduced that China is ready to commence building the aircraft carrier at this dock.
The US Defense Department reported in early 2009 that "Analysts in and out of government project that China will not have an operational, domestically-produced carrier and associated ships before 2015. However, changes in China’s shipbuilding capability and degree of foreign assistance to the program could alter those projections. The PLA Navy is considering building multiple carriers by 2020."
China's navy will develop a new generation of warships and aircraft to give it much longer-range capabilities, its commander-in-chief said in comments published Thursday April 16 2009. Admiral Wu Shengli told the state-run China Daily newspaper the Chinese navy wanted to develop hardware such as large combat warships, stealth submarines with abilities to travel further and supersonic cruise aircraft. More accurate long-range missiles, deep-sea torpedoes and a general upgrade of information technology were also in the pipeline, according to Wu. “The navy will establish a maritime defense system that corresponds with the need to protect China's maritime security and economic development," Wu said. The English-language China Daily, which the government uses to deliver messages to a foreign audience, printed his comments on its front page and said it had obtained a rare interview with such a high-ranking military figure. It quoted other Chinese military figures as saying that Wu's reference to building large warships referred to highly-publicized plans to build an aircraft carrier, but also other unspecified vessels. Chinese armed police have dramatically strengthened their watch on Dock No. 3. All the entrances to and exits from this dock are under armed police guard, with plainclothes police on patrol. In contrast, the entrances to Dock No. 1, where civilian ships are built, are guarded only by shipyard security staff.
Dock No. 3 is 580 meters long, 120 meters wide, and completely encircled by a wall at least 2.5 meters high. A giant gantry crane has been built, with a capacity to lift at least 600 tons. The dock is large enough to build a medium-sized conventional aircraft carrier similar to the Russian Admiral Kuznetsov class with a light load displacement of about 50,000 tons.
The outfitting quay for No. 3 Dock has been finished and includes a large gantry crane. According to the Eastern European sailors who visited the shipyard, the quay is 8 kilometers long and was finished in the fall of 2008.
A number of large containers have been shipped to the area near the dock. Among senior shipbuilding experts from Germany, France and Italy who examined the shipyard photos, one suggested the containers might be loaded with oxygen supplies and power-generating equipment, as huge amounts of oxygen and power would be required for welding engineering.
An Eastern European source familiar with the aircraft carrier project told United Press International that China had invested $5.1 billion in the facilities at Changxing Island, including three gigantic joint-structured indoor assembly workshops in which the separate sections of the carrier would be built.
The expert from the French shipbuilding industry said these facilities could be used for processing steel plates and section materials, or the preliminary treatment or assembly of separate sections of the carrier.
Sources have informed United Press International that the shipyard and all its facilities were built at a very fast pace. A separate road network was finished around January 2007 to provide safety and security for the project. Despite attempts at secrecy, many residents of the nearby Changxing township knew that the shipyard was being readied to make China's first aircraft carrier.
The facilities include numerous five-story buildings -- accommodations for nearly 60,000 peasant laborers hired to build the aircraft carrier facilities -- that have been in use since early this year. A correspondent for Kanwa Defense Review visited the area to interview peasant workers recruited for this project. The workers said they were paid from $440 to $585 per month, which is three or four times what an ordinary laborer in Shanghai can earn, and that their living conditions were very good.
The round-shaped headquarters building was to be finished this spring. Free-standing residential buildings in red and gray have been constructed for the shipbuilding experts. Satellite photos show that these houses are quite luxurious.
Judging from the size of the three gigantic joint-structured indoor assembly workshops affiliated to Dock No. 3, it is fully possible that the separate modules of the ship will be built in these workshops and finally assembled at the dock.
Sources told United Press International that China intends to build, equip and launch its first aircraft carrier -- internally named "Beijing" -- between 2009 and 2015. It is possible that the process could take longer, however.
The first steps will include the processing and cutting of steel plates and section materials as well as the assembly of sectional parts. When the keel is laid down it will be difficult to keep it secret, as the keel of the aircraft carrier must be towed to the dock in one piece.
June 3 was the Jiangnan Shipyard's 144th anniversary.
(Andrei Chang is editor in chief of Kanwa Defense Review Monthly, registered in Toronto.)
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