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VEB can open $2,5 bln credit lines for SSJ foreign buyers

“This is very important, but the approach to each transaction should be targeted and personal,” stressed Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev

GORKI, October 29 (Itar-Tass) — Vnesheconombank (VEB) may open credit line of up to 2.5 billion US dollars for foreign buyers of the aircraft of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 series, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev opening a meeting of the bank’s Supervisory Board on Monday.

According to him, the meeting is to consider “the opening of credit lines with the limit of up to 2.5 billion US dollars to foreign buyers of these aircraft (Sukhoi Superjet 100).” Medvedev stressed that “this is very important, but the approach to each transaction should be targeted and personal.” According to the RF cabinet head, “The task is to increase the number of planes sold on the foreign market, and also to use the mechanisms our country has received with the WTO accession.”

Designed to compete internationally with its An-148, Embraer and Bombardier counterparts, the Superjet 100 claims substantially lower operating costs, at a lower purchase price of 35 million US dollars. The final assembly of the Superjet 100 is done by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association. Its SaM-146 engines are designed and produced by the French-Russian PowerJet joint venture and the aircraft is marketed internationally by the Italian-Russian SuperJet International joint venture.

The RF cabinet stressed that aircraft building is a priority of the Russian state policy. Medvedev stressed that he had already signed changes to the rules for granting subsidies to Russian aircraft manufacturers for the compensation of the cost of loans taken for modernisation, lease payments and technological equipment.

The prime minister also pointed to the need to work on the promotion of domestic aircraft on foreign markets.

All the instruments must be used with this end in view, such as providing loans to the customers and certainly insurance of exports.

Sources in the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company – the developer and manufacturer of Superjet, told Itar-Tass that negotiations on the supply to foreign customers of some 100 such planes are currently underway. In particular, the aircraft will be delivered to Mexico’s Inter Jet, Indonesia’s Sky Aviation, and negotiations are also conducted with a number of Indian carriers.

Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a regional 100-seat aircraft, designed and produced by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft with the participation of Alenia Aermacchi. The flight range for the base version of the plane is 3,048 km, and for an extended range SSJ version – 4,578 km. The aircraft of this type are operated by two air carriers – Russia’s Aeroflot and Armenia’s Armavia. It is planned to develop the SSJ business type – Business Jet, on the basis of the short-haul aircraft.