Boeing is expecting to complete most of the detailed design of its Boeing 787-9 model by the end of the year, a senior official of the aerospace giant said on Sunday.

Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the Singapore Airshow, Mark Jenks, vice president for 787-9 development, said that the company has completed the first 25 percent of the detailed engineering designs.

The 787-9 model of the Dreamliner family of aircraft is expected to be first delivered in early 2014.

The industry giant began building components for the first flight of the model last year, with work on major assemblies, such as the center wingbox, expected to begin in the fourth quarter.

The first flight of the model will be expected in 2013.

A Dreamliner Boeing 787 is obviously the spotlight of the Singapore Airshow to be opened from Feb. 14 to 19, as is shown by a media preview on Sunday.

Boeing is marketing it as the world's next generation of aircraft that saves about 20 percent fuel compared with traditional aircraft of the same size, thanks to the using of composite materials for about 50 percent of the primary structure, including the fuselage and the wing.

It also uses many new technologies and materials such as its electronically controlled window shades.

Jenks said the design work on the hybrid laminar flow technology to be used on the 787-9 is essentially completed.

He reaffirmed that Boeing does not expect a large impact from the delamination problems seen on the 787-8 because of a production flaw, though it can be frustrating.

Boeing now has accumulated 870 orders over the years since 2004 worth more than 178 billion U.S. dollars, with the first five already delivered to Japanese airlines ANA late last year.

Chinese airlines have placed orders for 55 of the Dreamliner, including 15 Boeing 787-9 models ordered by Air China.

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