A huge market for civilian unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, is emerging in China, industry observers said, prompting the need for the government to speed up regulation.

 

"More than 10,000 civilian drones will be needed in China once the industry is fully developed and regulations are put in place," said Zhang Feng, secretary-general of the Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association of China. "The market value of developing, manufacturing, operating and maintaining these drones will reach 50 billion yuan ($8.18 billion)."

 

There are about 20,000 drones on the Chinese mainland used for civilian purposes, and businesses including agricultural pest control, environmental monitoring, geographical survey, aerial mapping, forest patrol, resource exploration as well as maritime operations have greatly benefited from drones, Zhang said.

 

Yu Min, an aviation industry analyst in Beijing, said aviation experts he has talked with are optimistic about the sector's future in China.

 

"We believe that the industry will embrace an exponential growth in the near future and some technologies adopted by civilian drones will even be more advanced than those of military ones," he expected.

 

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