Posted 03 January 2006 @ 19:26
JAKARTA, 03 January 2006 - Aerospace industry PT Dirgantara Indonesia claimed Tuesday it has produced 484 aircraft of various types since its establishment in 1976. The company has managed to sell aircraft to foreign markets, Dirgantara Acting President Nuril Fuad told President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was visiting the factory in the West Java capital of Bandung, some 150 km south of Jakarta. He said Malaysia has purchased eight aircraft, Thailand bought two, South Korea acquired eight and Pakistan ordered four.
Nuril said he hoped the government would buy several aircraft in stock. "If the government buys the entire planes for 200 million US dollars, PT Dirgantara will survive," he was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying. On the occasion, Susilo witnessed the signing of the handover of an N Bell-412 helicopter and an NC-212 plane from Dirgantara to the Indonesian Army. Nuril said Dirgantara's total production included 170 helicopters.
Dirgantara has developed a commuter propeller plane, the N-250 project, and a jet plane named N-2130. But the two projects have been delayed due to financial constraints, he said. Established in 1976, Dirgantara was tipped as the country's symbol in technological success under the Soeharto regime. In partnership with Spain-based CASA, the company produced propeller plane CN-235 for civilian and military purposes, which has become the backbone of the business.
But the financial crisis in 1998 brought the heavily indebted industry to the brink of collapse, forced the company to lay off about 6,000 out of 9,600 workers and narrowed 18 businesses into five during the Megawati Soekarnoputri administration. Lacking of orders from domestic and overseas buyers, Dirgantaranow depends on manufacturing subcontracts from world producers, including Airbus.
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