A Cessna 208B EX amphibian begins service after a commencing ceremony in Zhoushan city, East China's Zhejiang province, May 20, 2015. The plane of AVIC Joy Air general aviation airliner in Zhoushan is the first in China to launch a charter tourism flight with a seaplane, linking Putuoshan airport in Zhoushan to Shengsi Islands. (Photo: China News Service/Mou Jianwei)
Motorcycle and generator maker Zongshen Industrial Group will buy 49 percent of Canada's Harbor Air Seaplanes (HAS) and the transaction will be completed this week, the Chongqing-based company announced on Tuesday.
Harbor Air Seaplanes, headquartered in Vancouver, is the world's largest seaplane airline with more than 50 aircraft to serve 400,000 passengers annually.
"We value the business model of HAS that has created over the past three decades," said Li Yao, Zongshen's executive vice president.
"Zongshen wants to copy this model in China and provide an efficient and convenient travel choice for people living in coastal and riverside cities," said Li.
Zongshen is planning three seaplane routes in the cities of Chongqing, Suzhou and Qinzhou. They are expected to be operational next year, he said.
The purchase is not a financial investment but a strategic one as the opening of general aviation in China brings enormous business opportunities, said Zuo Zongshen, the billionaire founder of the company.
According to a general aviation blueprint, China's market is worth one trillion yuan (163 billion U.S. dollars).
