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MAKS Pavilions to Be Torn Down
Three days after the end of the 2007 International Air and Space Salon airshow (better known as MAKS), federal property manager Rosimushchestvo filed suit against the show's organizer OAO Aviasalon demanding that the facilities it built on the grounds of Gromov Test Flight Institute in the town of Zhukovsky outside Moscow, including the MAKS pavilions, be torn down. The official grounds for the suit are irregularities in the registration of the property. Analysts say, however, that Rosimushchestvo is acting in the interests of state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, which will act as organizer of future MAKS airshows and wants to built its own exhibition center.
The August 29 suit demands that Aviasalon remove 20 buildings and a runway from Gromov Institute and 16 objects from the airbase in the nearby town of Ramenskoe. Among the facilities to be removed from Gromov Institute are eight exhibition pavilions with a total area of 33,000 sq. m., four chalets with a total area of 4000 sq. m., two restroom complexes with a total area of 317 sq. m., management and maintenance facilities, the press center, a restaurant and a dining area.
Aviasalon, the creator of MAKS, was founded in 1992. Its main owners are Gromov Test Flight Institute (53%) and the Moscow Region Ministry of Property Relations (10.7%). The remaining shares are owned by individual stockholders. In 2006, the company showed a loss of over 31 million rubles. Income from MAKS 2007 exceeded $40.5 million.
Numerous officials and experts consulted by Kommersant expressed the opinion that Rosimushchestvo is acting on the behalf of Rosoboronexport. Rosoboronexport spokesmen deny that claim. Rosimushchestvo declined to comment on it. Complaints were heard this year about the poor organization of the airshow and the high costs of participating it.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 03, 2007
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