NIZHNY NOVGOROD. Feb 10 (Interfax-AVN) - Nizhny Novgorod Aircraft Plant Sokol (NAZ Sokol) plans to complete the first stage of a modernization project in the third quarter of 2014 under a federal program for the reorganization of the military-industrial complex, Sokol's General Director Alexander Karezin told Interfax.
Some 1.4 billion rubles in investment is to be put into the first stage in the modernization project: reconstruction of the assembly plant.
The federal program, as applied to the plant, falls into five stages (technical assignments). The second stage - modernization of the machine department - is to begin in 2014. But investment in this stage has not been defined yet, as the tender to select a contractor for the second stage has not been completed yet, Karezin said. Initially, the tender was scheduled for the third quarter of 2013.
Modernization will also embrace the testing facilities (third stage), technological preparations (fourth stage) and the flight testing facility (fifth stage).
Speaking of the plant's performance in 2013, Karezin said that its revenue amounted to about 5 billion rubles (up 7% compared to 2012), although projected sales stood at 8 billion rubles. The shortfall was "due to a certain time shift in the schedule of signing contracts with the Defense Ministry and other customers of the Russian aircraft construction corporation MIG, with which the Nizhny Novgorod plant is cooperating.
"The plans remain unchanged. We must overtake arrears. The contracts' timeframe will remain unchanged, we only have to intensify our work," Karezin said.
Sokol fulfilled two export contracts last year.
"We fulfilled a contract with a South Asian country. In cooperation with MIG, but under a separate agreement with the federal arms trader Rosoboronexport, we delivered our share of MiG-29UB planes within 2.5 years. Although it was a new batch, it was part of the stock already available. Concerning the equipment of the same planes under a new contract which we hope will be signed with the Defense Ministry, this will require renewed efforts, resources and time from us. In fact, it will actually mean a resumption of the production of MiG-29UB planes," Karezin said.
In addition to this, under MIG's contract with India NAZ Sokol upgraded two MiG-29 planes in three years and handed them over to the customer.
"At present, property is being delivered to Indian partners to enable them to extend the planes' service life at their enterprises," Karezin said.
Sokol became part of United Aircraft Corporation in 2006.
It manufactures the main components for MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-29M/M2 aircraft in cooperation with MIG, upgrades and repairs MiG-31 planes and modernizes MiG-29UB aircraft.