The first five buses have already arrived at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, from where they will be shipped to the buyer.
Buses for Iraq are new products of the Neftekamsk automobile plant in Tatarstan (a federal republic in the Volga Region). They are made in a "tropical" variant: comfortable passenger compartments are equipped with air conditioners and tires are made of components that can endure temperatures of up to 90 degrees Centigrade.
"I can confirm: it is the first postwar but the largest delivery. No we have signed a contract and restored the letter of credit to supply 195 buses to Iraq via the UN. The first five buses have already been shipped. This month we intend to ship another 20. The contract is to be fulfilled by May. If nothing comes in our way, it will be the beginning of our serious return to Iraq," KAMAZ director general Sergei Kogogin said.
Within the UN Oil for Food Program, KAMAZ supplied Iraq only with trucks. The deliveries in 2002 were record high, exceeding 4,000 trucks.
