Russia, Cuba sign memo on supplies of aviation equipment.

Itar-Tass

22.08.2007, 18.22

ZHUKOVSKY, August 22 (Itar-Tass) - Russia's Ilyushin Finance leasing company concluded a memorandum of mutual understanding with Cuba, which envisions the continuation of supplies of Russian-made aviation equipment to Cuba, ARMS-TASS reported.

The document was signed within the framework of the MAKS-2007 international air show, by Ilyushin Finance director general Alexander Rubtsov and chief representative of Aviaimport, a company which engages in purchasing planes for Cuban airlines.

Aviaimport plans to buy two Tu-204 planes and three An-148 aircraft in the period from 2006-2011. Their aggregate cost is 150 million dollars.

A number of important contracts were concluded at MAKS-2007 on Wednesday, including a contract with Iran, which will purchase five Tu-204-120C planes in a deal worth 200 million dollars.

Ukraine's manufacturer of aircraft engines Motor Sich signed a contract with Ilyushin Finance to supply 74 D-436-148 engines and 34 auxiliary power units for An-148 planes.

The contact was inked by Motor Sich president Vyacheslav Boguslayev and Ilyushin Finance director general Alexander Rubtsov on Wednesday.

Boguslayev told ARMS-TASS that the parties had been working on terms of the contract for two yeas. Under the document, the supplier undertakes to fully provide for maintenance of the equipment sold.

"It won't be easy for us; we got used to another system, when the state assumed responsibility for everything, but now we're taking all the risks," he underlined.

"For the first time, Motor Sich agreed to the program of so-called 'second strategy', which fixes the price of flying hour and guarantees of full maintenance of the supplied engines and auxiliary power units for Russian airlines," said Rubtsov.

D-436-148 engine is a product of cooperation between Motor Sich, the Moscow-based Salyut plant and Urkaine's Ivchenko Progress company which works in the fields of both civil and military equipment.

The partners set up a joint group led by former Russian minister of defense Anatoly Sitnov for technical support of their products on the Russian market.

The production of An-148 planes opens an opportunity to replace the whole ageing fleet of transport aviation of this class, which numbers some 3,500 planes, Sitnov told ARMS-TASS.

Also on Wednesday, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a subsidiary of Russia’s major aircraft holding, and Italy’s Company Alenia Aeronautica said they would create a joint venture to develop Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet-100 aircraft.

The document was signed by Sukhoi director-general Mikhail Pogosyan, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft President Viktor Subbotin and Alenia’s Senior Vice-President for Strategy and Business Development Carlo Logli.

Alenia Aeronautica will have a 51-percent stake in the JV, and Sukhoi - a 49-percent stake.

Russia’s Permskiye Motory and Azerbaijan’s Silk Way Airlines signed a contract to supply five PS-90A-76 engines.

The engine meets the ICAO standards on the emission of hazardous substances and responds to up-to-date noise restrictions.

Some 60,000 people visited the MAKS-2007 air show at Zhukovsky outside of Moscow on the first day of its work, regional police told Itar-Tass. “We haven't registered any serious incidents or wrongdoing,” a police officer said.

Over 700 companies from 39 countries are participating in MAKS-2007, head of the Federal Industrial Agency /Rosprom/ Boris Alyoshin said.

“Russia will be represented by 130 companies more than at the air show MAKS-2005, and number of foreign participants increased 1.5 times,” Alyoshin said.