Russian plant for Canadian aircraft to launch in 2014
August 6, 2013, 11:51 am

The planes will be capable of operating in extreme sub-zero temperatures in the Arctic [AP]

According to the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti, Vityaz plans to assemble 24 DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 400 aircrafts a year.

The plane was produced from 1965 to 1988 by de Havilland Canada and there are currently 584 aircrafts in service.

In 2006 the brand was revived when Canadian company Viking started producing a modernised series.

The planes will be designed for the transportation of 19 people and will be capable of operating in extreme sub-zero temperatures in the Arctic and in Russia’s Northern areas.

The assembly plant is to be constructed this year in Russia’s Ulyanovsk special economic zone.

An official Vityaz statement cites the successful evacuation of staff by the aircraft at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica in 2001, when temperatures were 75 degrees below zero.

The investment for the assembly plant is estimated at $80 million, over half of which has already spent, Vedomosti quoted Sergei Antsiferov, CEO of Vityaz as saying.

The project will require the output of 50 planes to be successful, while there is an estimated market for 200 aircrafts over the next decade.

Russia’s official aviation development plan is expected to cover the leasing rates of the Canadian planes.

The federal programme envisages investment in the aviation industry of $2.4 billion in 2013, $3.3 billion in 2014, and $3.8 billion in 2015.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev recently approved a development plan for 2013-2015 in order to make the industry more competitive in the international market.

The DHC-6 Twin Otter plane will not be the only Canadian aircraft assembled in Ulyanovsk.

Another project is assembling the Q-400 Bombardier which has a capacity of 78 seats and a flight range of 2500 km.

By Daria Chernyshova in Moscow, Russia for The BRICS Post