Aviastar-SP to Take Over a Jet Construction Order
China has put off a session of the Chinese-Russian commission on technical and military cooperation after Russia broke its contract to sell $1.5 billion-worth Il-76 and Il-78 jets to Beijing. Moscow is going to transfer the production of the 38 jets from Uzbekistan to central Russia to save the contract. However, a later session of the commission may slow down the signing of contracts to supply Russian armaments and military hardware to China.
A meeting of Chinese and Russian Defense Ministers, scaled for September, has been put off till mid-October, the Defense Ministry told Kommersant but noted that the date is unknown. The ministers were to hold a new session of the bilateral commission on technical and military cooperation. Russian official reported that China postponed the session for an indefinite period and demanded that Russia meet obligations of present contracst, first of all the supply of 34 Il-76 jets and 4 Il-78 jets, worth of $1.5 billion. Russia’s arms exporter Rosoboronexport and China struck the deal last year. The Chkalov Tashkent Aviation Plant in Uzbekistan was to carry out the contract.
The supply has not begun yet, though China waited for the jets in summer. In September, the Chinese informed Moscow that the bilateral commission would not sit the next session until the issue was settled. The Tashkent Aviation Plant declined to comment the reports, but sources at the factory explained that the delay was mostly due to the lack of personnel as they had not had orders there for a long time after a long crisis.
The Russian party has started saving the contract. Valery Bezverkhniy, president of United Aviation Building Consortium, said the production of Il-76s will be taken to Russia from Uzbekistan. A source in the company told Kommersant the jets for China would be assembled at Aviastar-SP in Ulyanovsk.
The re-scheduling of the session of the Russian-Chinese commission may slow down the signing of new contracts to supply armaments and military hardware to China.
Konstantin Lantratov, Ivan Safronov and Alexandra Gritskova
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 15, 2006
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