China is expected to unveil its new turboprop plane at the weekend, with the aim of increasing Chinese world market share for propeller aircraft.

The Modern Ark 600 or MA600 will roll off the assembly line in the northern city of Xian on Sunday, according to China Daily. The new plane will be comparable to the Canadian Bombardier and the French ATR.

The first and only model of the MA series on the market is the 50-60 seat MA60. The new MA600 is lighter than the MA60, and thus consumes less fuel. It is also equipped with maritime survival functions for island countries.

The MA600 is scheduled to begin trials in September and will be delivered to its first customer next year.

China also plans to build its own jumbo jets to compete with Boeing and Airbus. In March, it launched a new aerospace firm charged with this task and has already started building a mid-range, 70-90 seat aircraft called the ARJ-21.