China would encourage private investment in 28 airport, drone and maintenance projects worth a total of US$16 billion, as part of its efforts to make the sector more globally competitive, the Civil Aviation Administration on China said in a joint statement with the National Development and Reform Commission, Reuters report.

Eleven of those projects already have private investors, while the remaining 17, which include a flight training school, drone delivery projects and some support services for Beijing’s new airport, are seeking private funding.

The regulating institutions are considering a possibility to make private investment available for more projects and will release more information in the future.

With a rapidly developing aviation market in the region, Boeing forecasts that China will overtake the US to become the world’s largest domestic aviation market by 2030.