Mitsubishi to build Japan's 1st passenger jet

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. plans to launch a
project within this year 2005 to develop and
commercialize Japan's first domestic passenger jet, the
Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Tuesday.

The report said the company plans to develop a jet
capable of carrying 70-90 passengers and aims to conduct
its maiden flight in fiscal 2008.

Mitsubishi notified the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry on Monday of its plan to start developing
conceptual designs.

The company is a party to a five-year project launched
in fiscal 2003 by the government and the private sector
to co-develop a passenger jet. Japan has developed a
turboprop passenger plane, the YS-11, but not a
passenger jet.