"The first panels of the fuselage, which had been manufactured at the Aviastar-SP, were sent to Voronezh in May this year. We will produce the components for the second prototype this year," Andrey Kapustin told RIA Novosti in an interview.
The Il-112 is a light military transport aircraft, designed for transporting and parachuting of military equipment and personnel, as well as of various cargoes.
According to Kapustin, state agencies, as well as private companies can become potential customers of the aircraft.
Mass production of the plane is scheduled for 2019 at the Voronezh aircraft plant after all state tests are completed.
The Russian Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar-SP aircraft maker, plans to supply two Tupolev Tu-204-300 jets to the Russian Presidential Administration in 2016 and three more before 2019, the company's managing director said.
"This year, two Tu-204-300 planes will be supplied to the Russian Presidential Administration's special flight detachment. One of these is already being tested at the Ulyanovsk Vostochny airfield. The second plane will leave the [Ulyanovsk] plant to be tested in a month. There are ongoing discussions about supplying a further three aircraft to the President Administration in 2017-2018," Andrey Kapustin told RIA Novosti in an interview.
The Tu-204-300 project has been frozen by the Aviastar-SP board of directors, with up to eight aircraft currently remaining at advanced stages of production, he added, noting that there is continuing interest in the planes.
"For example, a company like Russian Post has shown interest. There is also interest in the plane by Chinese companies," he said.
Russian Post plans to create its own fleet of cargo planes, with the Tu-204 aircraft to potentially be modified to carry cargo, according to Kapustin.
Russia's Tu-204-300 aircraft is a twin-engine airliner of high fuel efficiency and comfort level that has been fitted with modern communications systems and a noise-protected interior, according to the website of Tupolev Public Joint Stock Company, which designed the aircraft.
