SHANGHAI - China broke ground for its first aircraft engine assembly and testing center this week in the city’s Lingang Industrial Park.

“There is no fixed timetable but we hope to see a domestically produced engine put in use in 2020,” Feng Jinzhang, head of the research and development department of the center told China Daily on Wednesday.

The 0.8-square kilometer center is composed of six areas, including experiment, assembly and maintenance. The 8 billion yuan center is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co Ltd (ACAE).

Zhang Yujin, vice-president of ACAE, said the assembly line will be completed by 2014 and the company aims to mass-produce engines by 2020.

The center will also make the city the nation’s aircraft manufacturing base, Zhang said.