A massive amphibious aircraft developed by China for purposes ranging from firefighting to marine rescues is set for test flights this year.

The AG600 will make its maiden flight over land in the first half of 2017 and taking off and landing on water in the second half, according to state aircraft maker the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). 

Similar in size to the Boeing 737, the AG600 will be the world's largest amphibious aircraft. The 37-meter monster, with a wingspan of 38.8 meters, has a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes.

It is designed to collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds, and transport up to 370 tonnes of water on a single tank of fuel.

The first AG600 was completed in July last year, and shown to the public at the 2016 China Airshow.

The AVIC says it has already received 17 orders for the aircraft due to its multiple uses, also including marine resource exploitation, marine environmental monitoring, resource detection and transportation.

According to chief designer Huang Lingcai, "The AG600 is like a ship that can fly."

(With inputs from Xinhua)