GE and Boeing keen on joining IPTN venture
GE and Boeing keen on joining IPTN venture
JAKARTA (JP): General Electric and Boeing Corp., both of the United States, will likely join PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) in the establishment of an assembly plant in the United States to produce Indonesian designed N-250 aircraft.
"General Electric has stated that it will also buy N-250 aircraft to be produced in the United States besides its partnership in the plant, while Boeing is still studying the possibility of holding a stake in the venture," IPTN president B.J. Habibie told Antara news agency on Wednesday in Washington.
Habibie, who is also State Minister for Research and Technology, has been in Washington since Oct. 1 and will remain until tomorrow to continue negotiations with the electricity and machinery company General Electric and the giant aircraft manufacturer Boeing for the establishment of the venture and for preparations of the assembly plant construction.
According to Habibie, both General Electric and Boeing have yet to fix their stakes in the planned joint venture.
The final results of negotiations will likely come within the week, he said.
He said that the shareholding policy on the new venture will allow IPTN to hold a stake of between 40 percent and 48 percent, while the foreign parties will be allowed to control the rest.
The venture is designed to assemble IPTN's N-250 airplanes which will use turboprop engines. With a speed of 300 knots per hour, the aircraft will have a capacity of between 60 and 70 seats.
Localization
Habibie also said that IPTN has thus far not decided on the location of the planned aircraft assembling plant.
"But according to our recent research of seven locations in the United States, we have shortlisted three cities, Portland in the Oregon state, Phoenix in Arizona and Mobile in Alabama," he said.
He was optimistic that the localization of the plant would run smoothly, considering that officials and senators of the three prospective states have actively offered various incentives for the establishment of the plant.
"We expect that the localization will be determined by December through a presidential decree," he said.
Habibie said that American senators and high ranking officials have greeted Indonesia's initiatives to expand its aircraft business to the United States.
He added that the Indonesian government invited U.S. senators and officials to visit IPTN's industrial complex in Bandung, West Java, in November in conjunction with the launching of an N-250 aircraft. (fhp)