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)