Dirgantara Indonesia yet to start manufacturing C-212 for Merpati

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Novia D. Rulistia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Bandung, Jakarta   |  Sat, 02/16/2008 12:42 PM  |  Business

State-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (DI) is awaiting the arrival of components from Europe before manufacturing the C-212-400 light aircraft ordered by Merpati Nusantara Airlines, an official said Friday.

PT DI aircraft integration director Budi Wuraskito said a Spain-based unit of European Aeronautics Defense Space Company (EADS) would send two components, technical drawings and assembly jigs in June to PT DI headquarters in Bandung, West Java.

"We will start manufacturing the plane soon after the drawing is in our hands, as Merpati wants the first C-212-400 to be delivered by the end of 2009," Budi said in Bandung.

Last month, PT DI and Merpati signed a contract for the order of 10 C-212-400s to serve routes in eastern Indonesia, especially Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi.

Budi said the remaining nine planes would be finished and delivered to Merpati by the end of 2010.

The 26-seater C-212-400 is the latest version of the C-212 developed by CASA-EADS NV with a price of around US$5.5 million.

Previously, EADS and PT DI signed an agreement on the relocation of the C-212 production and assembly facilities from San Pablo, Spain, to Bandung.

Budi said the market for the C-212-400 was promising as many airlines in the region had started to turn from jets to light aircraft due to high global oil prices.

"When lots of airlines turned to jets years ago, many light aircraft manufacturers collapsed. And now there are only two prominent light aircraft manufacturers in the world, ATR and Bombardier," he said.

"Our opportunity is big, as the market is still large."

For the domestic market alone, Budi said, the demand for the planes in the next 10 years would be high, as many existing similar planes were at the end of their lives.

"In Indonesia, of 96 units of the C-212-200 we produced, around 45 units are now defunct," Budi said.

This year, PT DI is targeting Rp 1 trillion in profit, up from Rp 850 billion in 2007.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.