Airbus Group's helicopter manufacturing arm began construction of its first assembly line for commercial aircraft in Qingdao, a coastal city of east China's Shandong province. [iqilu.com]

Airbus Group's helicopter manufacturing arm began construction of its first assembly line for commercial aircraft in Qingdao, a coastal city of east China's Shandong province.

The plant, jointly operated by Airbus Helicopters and Qingdao United General Aviation Company, will be completed in 2018 and is designed to produce 18 H135 helicopters a year.

The H135 is a popular light helicopter in China, mainly used in medical aid, rescue, police surveillance, fire fighting and tourism.

The first aircraft is likely to be rolled out in 2019.