Nine projects involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be established at Shenyang general aviation industry base are signed on Dec 26.[Photo/Chinanews.com]

A total of nine projects involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were agreed on Dec 26 for Shenyang general aviation industry base.

The projects involve the production and sale of UAVs, research centers for aeronautical simulators and powered parachutes, training bases for UAV pilots, and the establishment of platforms for civil and military UAVs.

The new projects are expected to speed up the progress of Shenyang general aviation industry base in becoming an industrial cluster for producers and researchers of UAVs.

There is increasing demand for drones from the private sector.

As of July, there were around 7,000 businesses undertaking drone research and development in China. The overall market for drones is expected to reach 100 billion yuan ($15.05 billion) by 2020, according to a forecast by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In the booming drone market, researchers and manufacturers need a dedicated place to host test flights for their products.

The Shenyang base was authorized to conduct low-altitude drone flights from China Low-Altitude Airspace Research Center on Nov 10, making it the first of its kind in China.

"Commercial drones will be allowed to conduct test flights below an altitude of 3,000 meters in the airspace," said Liu Guoyin, deputy director at the administration committee of the base.

Liu said that the previous drone test flight bases in the country mainly targeted civilian drones, which are required to fly below 150 meters.

The Shenyang base was built in 2010 in Faku county, with an area of 68 square kilometers. It has built facilities such as runways, terminals and parking aprons, having attracted over 20 aviation firms.

In the following five years, a complete industrial chain integrating UAV research, production, sale and testing will take shape at the base. In addition, it will establish an air traffic management center, a business incubator, and a big data center for UAVs.