The public are being asked to submit names for China's first independently developed commercial regional jet, currently known as the ARJ-21, a source with the AVIC I Commercial Aircraft company said on Wednesday.

The company would stop accepting submissions on Sept. 28, and the name, which will have two to four Chinese characters, would be finalized and released at the end of December, the source said.

The person responsible for the winning name will receive 50,000 yuan (6,623 U.S. dollars).

The domestically-built, mid-size, short-haul airliner is expected to roll out of the workshop at the end of the year, said Luo Ronghuai, general manager of AVIC I Commercial Aircraft, a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation I, the developer.

The ARJ-21's maiden flight is scheduled for March 2008 and mass production will begin in 2009, said Luo.

Chinese experts said the ARJ-21 has given China a late but powerful presence in its own commercial aviation market, which until now has been dominated by foreign aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus.

The project is also seen as preparation for China's own big jet (with more than 150 seats) project, an undertaking that was shelved for about 30 years. Chinese experts say they need two decades to produce a big plane. 

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2007)