MOSCOW, February 22 (AVN) - Differences in the Russian and Uzbek legislation as well as some commercial issues delay establishment of the Ilyushin interstate aircraft company, Yuri Koptev, director general of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, told the Military News Agency on Thursday.
Asked about the delay, Koptev said that commercial issues included disagreement as to conditions under which the Tashkent aircraft production association could join the holding.
The decision to set up the company was taken in the mid-1990s with presidential approvals. Russia was to be represented by the Ilyushin design bureau, designer of the IL family, and the Voronezh aircraft production association, producer of IL-86 Camber and IL-96 passenger and transportation aircraft. The Uzbek side was to come up with the Tashkent aircraft production association, producer of IL-114 local and regional liners, and IL-76 Candid and IL-76MF military transports. The parties agreed that Russian share in the holding will be not less than 51 percent, which is a controlling block of stock.
According to Koptev, to be able to set up the interstate company, the Tashkent association should be privatised like the Russian enterprises. Russia cannot keep the Tashkent enterprise out of the holding, as it will take USD80m and two years of painstaking work to start production of IL-76 and its variants in Voronezh, said Koptev.