China’s HNA Group, which operates multiple aviation businesses including Hainan Airlines, is planning to set up a new carrier in Ningbo, a city in eastern China’s Zhejiang province.

The group will partner with local state-owned companies to invest CNY1 billion (US$154 million) in the new Ningbo Airlines, which could take to the skies as early as in October 2016.

Based at Ningbo Lishe International Airport, the proposed airline will be a low-cost carrier operating domestic and short-haul international flights within Asia. It plans to build a fleet of up to 20 aircraft by the end of 2020.

Ningbo Airlines becomes the latest in a series of new Chinese airlines launched by HNA in recent years. Others include Fuzhou Airlines in Fujian province, Urumqi Airlines in the Xinjiang region, and GX Airlines in Guangxi region. It has also created a new passenger airline in Shanghai, with the expansion of former cargo carrier Yangtze River Airlines.

Set in the Yangtze River Delta region, Ningbo is located 214km from Shanghai and 154km from Hangzhou. Currently China Eastern Airlines is the only carrier with an operating base in the city.