VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / VORONEZH
The industrial team supporting production of Ilyushin designs says the VASO plant in Voronezh will continue to build the Il-96 airliner at low rates in the short term and is finalising deals for 10 aircraft nearing completion.
NRB group, which is the main commercial investor in the team, says it is committed to fund the completion of 10 Il-96s that are already in production at VASO. Six of these are -300s earmarked for 10-year lease to Aeroflot by the NRB-controlled Ilyushin-Finance leasing company.
A final contract is due to be signed at this week's Moscow air show if certain issues can be resolved.
Of the four Il-96-400T freighters being completed at VASO, two are due to be delivered to Atlant Soyuz Airlines via Ilyushin-Finance. Volga-Dnepr is in negotiations for the other two -400Ts. A VIP-configured version of the Il-96 is being studied as a potential long-range "corporate jet" offering, which NRB is considering for its own requirements, says chairman Aleksandr Lebedev.
NRB is awaiting government approval for its proposed "single national civil aviation corporation", says Lebedev. This would see the merging of design bureaux Ilyushin and Tupolev, along with production plants Aviastar (Ulyanovsk), KAPO (Kazan) and VASO under an NRB-led consortium. Up to 25% would be offered to foreign investors.
Along with the Il-96, NRB sees VASO's long-term future in the Il-76 military transport and Antonov An-148 regional jet. Orders are sufficient to keep the plant busy for the next three years, says VASO general director Vyacheslav Salikov.
Source: Flight International
