Niedersachsen chosen for IPTN aircraft assembly plant
Niedersachsen chosen for IPTN aircraft assembly plant
JAKARTA (JP): The German state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) has been selected as the site for an assembly plant of Indonesia's state-owned aircraft manufacturer, IPTN.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said in Hannover yesterday that an in-principle agreement had been reached during a meeting between President Soeharto and Niedersachsen's Premier Gerhard Schroeder.
The minister said that the north German state of seven million people would also be the marketing center for IPTN products throughout Europe.
Soeharto is currently in Germany to attend the 1995 Hannover Fair, at which Indonesia has the honor of being Germany's "country partner". Hannover is the capital city of Niedersachsen.
The selection of Niedersachsen appears to be Indonesia's most direct attempt so far to capture a market for IPTN's N-250 70- seater passenger plane, priced at about US$13.5 million.
Indonesia has a lot riding on the commercial success of the N- 250, because it has invested enormous sums in the project.
It is estimated that IPTN needs to supply at least 10 percent of the global demand for commuter aircraft for the N-250 project to break even.
Efforts are also being made to capture a share of the North American market.
For the past year the states of Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon and Utah have reportedly been bidding to be the site of IPTN's factory in the United States. The selection of Niedersachsen appears, in comparison, to have been a snap decision, and one made without any prior public discussion.
IPTN rolled out a prototype of the N-250 at its plant in Bandung, West Java, last November. The first plane is expected to be completed in August this year, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence.
The IPTN project is the brainchild of State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie, who is also a senior consultant to the board of directors of the German aircraft company Messerschmitt Boelkow Blohm.
As reported by Antara, Moerdiono said yesterday that, in light of Indonesia's limited financial resources, Soeharto had called on Germany to fund the IPTN plant in Niedersachsen.
Moerdiono also revealed that, during the meeting, Soeharto and Schroeder agreed to cooperate in the automotive industry.
Under the proposed cooperation, Indonesia would be used as a base from which to market German cars throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Moerdiono said.
The minister declined to give further details of either project, pointing out that at this stage only broad agreement had been reached. (mds)