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)