Sukhoi Civil Aircraft will get 6.8 billion roubles for Superjet-100
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin began a three-day working tour of the Far East (in and outside Russia). He visited Komsomolsk-on-Amur on Monday, will spend today in Tokyo and tomorrow in Ulan-Bator. In Komsomolsk-on-Amur the Prime Minister focused on ship-building and the new Russian plane Sukhoi Superjet-100.
Vladimir Putin's first stop in the Far East was the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft enterprise, which is building Superjet-100 in a consortium with Italy's Alenia Aeronautica (Italians own 25% plus 1 share).
However, the plane cannot be described as exclusively a Russian-Italian effort. The chassis and the brake system come from Canada, the doors and seats from America and the engines have been designed by Russia and France.
The plane is going through certification tests at present, both in Russia and Europe. With a European certificate the plane can be sold for export. The target set by the Russian-Italian consortium is to gain a 17% share of the world market in medium-range planes.
Sukhoi expects to have the certificates by the end of the year whereupon planes will be delivered to the first clients. As of today Sukhoi has 98 orders, Vladimir Putin was told. The first plane will go to Armavia (the Armenians have ordered two). The catalogue price of Superjet-100 is $28 million, Sukhoi's public relations director Olga Kayukova explained, however the cost of each order is negotiated separately, and payment is to be made in advance. The decision on who would be the first customer to receive a Superjet-100 was prompted by the configuration of the order: the simpler it is the easier it is to build the first plane.
Aeroflot has ordered 30 planes and will be among the first to buy them. "We signed an option for another 15 planes with Aeroflot", Sukhoi's director-general, Mikhail Pogosyan, told Mr Putin. The Prime Minister was pleased with Aeroflot's performance.
Sukhoi is also negotiating with Rosavia to transfer to it the orders of the Dalavia company, which has gone bankrupt, Olga Kayukova said. A further 10 orders have been placed by Italian companies, some of which have already made advance payments. Mr Pogosyan said that "measures are currently under discussion to channel financial support through Vnesheconombank (VEB) to air companies that are planning to buy Sukhoi Superjet-100". They include both Russian and foreign companies. Mr Pogosyan chose not to discuss the format and amounts of support, but added that support of airlines which buy new planes is common world practice.
Later Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov elaborated that air companies, above all Aeroflot, will get a $250 million loan for 13 years to purchase Superjet-100. The money will be put up by VEB.
Mr Putin boarded the Superjet-100 destined for Armavia, walked through the cabin and sat in the pilot's seat. Emerging from the plane he told the plant's workers: "You make good planes. Well done."
Mr Putin promised 6.8 billion roubles in government aid to the enterprise. Out of that sum 3.2 billion roubles will go to increase the authorised capital of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft and another 3.6 billion will come under the federal targeted programme Civil Aviation Development to compensate for the rising prices of spare parts.
"It will be a long-term project. So you will not be without work," Mr Putin explained. "We are glad," the workers responded. "We too," the Prime Minister agreed.
By Maxim Tovkailo, Andrei Biryukov