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Turbulence in Russia's Uzbek
ties
By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW
- Russia's attempts to forge closer economic integration
with the former Soviet states in Central Asia have hit a
roadblock, as Moscow has decided to move the production
of its Ilyushin Il-76 cargo jet from Tashkent,
Uzbekistan, to Voronezh in Central Russia.
The
Tashkent Aircraft Plant (TAPO) is one of the largest
industrial outlets in Uzbekistan. The
government-controlled TAPO employs a workforce of 30,000
and is headquartered outside of Tashkent. Initially
established in 1932 in the Moscow suburb Khimki, the
TAPO was relocated to Uzbekistan in 1941, as German
troops approached during World War II.
When
Russia moved to create the Ilyushin production complex
in January 1997, it was supposed to include the Ilyushin
design bureau in Moscow, the Voronezh Aircraft Plant,
and the TAPO. Uzbek authorities reportedly agreed, but
requested US$300 million in exchange for putting the
country's largest plant under Russian control. However,
although the TAPO was assembling the main cargo aircraft
used by the Russian air force, Moscow found the asking
price unreasonable and refused.
Yet in the wake
of the TAPO's successful export contracts to sell the
Il-76 and Il-78, Uzbekistan reportedly decided to retain
control over the TAPO. When Russian President Vladimir
Putin visited Uzbekistan in August, Uzbek President
Islam Karimov reportedly ruled out privatization of the
TAPO. Prior to the summit, the Uzbek government had
stated that in any event it would keep a controlling 51
percent stake in the TAPO.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan
is now charging Russia's defense ministry nearly $40
million per one Il-76MF, an exorbitant price for a plane
designed in Russia, basically being assembled from
Russian-made spare parts. Subsequently, Moscow has
reportedly decided to move ahead with Ilyushin
production in Russia without the Uzbek plant.
Russia plans to start production of Il-76MF in
2005, Viktor Livanov, deputy head of the Ilyushin
production complex, was quoted as saying by the Izvestia
Daily.
The Russian government reportedly
allocated funds to relocate the production in 2004. The
total relocation costs have been estimated at $300
million by Russia's defense ministry, $130 million by
the Ilyushin and $1 billion by the TAPO.
So far,
some 500 Il-76 aircraft have been produced since it
entered service with the former Soviet air force in
1974. The Il-76 four-engine cargo jet is also known by
its North Atlantic Treaty Alliance codename "Candid".
There are several design variants, including the basic
Il-76, Il-76M, Il-76MD and the Il-76MF. The Il-76M
version is roughly the same as the Il-76, but has a
maximum payload of 47 tons, compared to 28 tons for the
Il-76. The Il-76MF aircraft is a derivative of the
Il-76MD, with the fuselage lengthened by nearly seven
meters, while the flight range is increased by over 20
percent.
Since the mid-1970s, the Il-76 aircraft
became a predominant cargo plane of the former Soviet's
army and later on for the armed forces of the new
independent states.
The aircraft also became an
export item. The Chinese air force ordered 14 Ilyushin
Il-76s in the 1990s. These planes are reportedly
operated by the 34th Air Division based in the Nanyuan
Airbase near Beijing. There have been reports on further
negotiations between the TAPO and China on a possible
purchase of additional batches of Il-76s.
The
Il-76s have also been sold to other Asian destinations.
For instance, India has reportedly chosen the Il-76 as
the platform for the three Israeli-made Phalcon AEW
(airborne early warning) systems.
In addition to
the Candid, other versions of the aircraft include the
A-50 Mainstay AEW platform, and the Il-78 Midas aerial
refueling tanker developed in the early 1980s. The
former Soviet Union's only operational Il-78M regiment
was based in Ukraine, which retained the aircraft after
declaring independence in 1991. Only a limited number of
Il-78Ms remained in Russia.
In March 2002 it was
reported that the TAPO clinched a deal to sell three
Il-78 tankers to India. Negotiations over delivery of an
undisclosed number of Il-78s to China for some $30
million apiece have also been reported. So far, some 50
Il-78 aircraft have been produced at the TAPO.
Theoretically, there have been positive signs
recently for increased economic cooperation between
Russia and Uzbekistan. Moscow and Tashkent have been
discussing prospects for expanding bilateral economic
cooperation, notably the export of Uzbek cotton and
natural gas and for a bigger role for Russian companies
in exploring oil and gas deposits in Uzbekistan.
Moreover, earlier in October, Uzbekistan
fulfilled its currency-convertibility obligations to the
International Monetary Fund. Uzbekistan is moving
towards full currency convertibility of the national
currency, the som, which would facilitate foreign trade,
including economic ties with Russia.
On the
other hand, in the past two years, Moscow has been wary
of Tashkent. The United States was granted clearance to
use a large military base at Khanabad in order to carry
out the continuing "war on terror" in neighboring
Afghanistan. Uzbekistan's decision to let the Pentagon
use Khanabad, one the largest former Soviet air bases in
Central Asia, followed the $500 million annual aid
package from Washington.
During the late Soviet
era, the Khanabad base served as a logistics support
facility for the Soviet army's ill-fated 1979-89
occupation of Afghanistan, while the Il-76s were main
vehicles of the invasion.
Moscow has argued that
the US military bases in Central Asia were temporary
facilities to support international peacekeepers in
Afghanistan, with a United Nations mandate, and should
be removed as soon as the Afghan anti-terrorist
operation ends.
(Copyright 2003 Asia Times
Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for information
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