Libya interested in buying CN-235 aircraft from PTDI

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The Libyan government has expressed interest in purchasing CN-235 aircraft from PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) to replace old Russian aircraft currently used by its army.

Son of Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi, Seif al-Islam al- Qaddafi, visited the company's workshop in Bandung on Thursday and made inquiries about the technology used in the CN-235.

Sales director Iwan Sumekto, who accompanied Qaddafi, said that Libya has been using Antonov An-26 aircraft for more than 20 years.

"They need to be replaced," said Sumekto. The 30- to 50-seater CN-235 is suitable for Libya, which is not a vast country, he explained further. The aircraft is required to monitor its territorial and coastal areas.

At the end of the tour, Qaddafi invited PTDI to show its products in Tripoli. "In December or January (next year) we will go to Libya," said Sumekto.

Business development director Budi Wuraskito said that PTDI officials met President Qaddafi during former president Megawati Soekarnoputri's visit to Libya in September last year.

"At first they inquired about Super Puma helicopters," said Wuraskito.

PTDI, formerly known as PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN), was an ambitious project of former president Soeharto. Under then-minister of research and technology B.J. Habibie, the company set a target to produce commercial aircraft by 2015.

The company made headlines mid-last year, when its management suspended 9,670 workers, citing financial constraints as the company had been facing difficulties in selling its aircraft.

With the government's approval, 6,600 employees were dismissed last December. The government disbursed US$50 million in severance packages for the workers, who rejected them and demanded to be reinstated.

PTDI delivered earlier this year military passenger planes, CN-235-220, to Pakistan as part of an agreement, which was made two years ago to purchase four planes worth US$52 million.

PTDI is currently also contracted to supply aircraft components to British Aerospace and Boeing.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has made a preliminary commitment to provide working capital for the projects with a bond issue ranging between $15 million to $60 million.

The bank is currently conducting a feasibility study, which is expected to be finished in February next year, to see whether or not PTDI was bankable.