SOCHI (Sputnik) — In 2016, VEB financed the delivery of three SSJ100 aircraft to the Irish regional airline CityJet and there is an arrangement to deliver five such aircraft in 2017, according to Gorkov.
"It was a debut deal, as the Russian-made serial passenger plane has been exported to Western Europe for the first time in 50 years… Now there are opportunities to reach success on new markets and we will be actively assisting our exporters," Gorkov said in an interview with the official magazine of the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi set for February 27-28.
According to Gorkov, VEB plays an important role in promotion of Russian products on external markets.
"The bank is like an 'icebreaker' paving the way for Russian exporters to the new markets, especially in the sphere of high value-added industry. Last year, our order book increased by 1.5 times and reached 450 billion rubles [$7.6 billion] and the value of new deals exceeded 270 billion rubles [$4.6 billion]," Gorkov added.
The Superjet 100 is a twin-engine regional passenger airliner, designed and produced by the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), which completed its maiden flight in 2008 and was first commercialized in 2011. The aircraft can transport up to 98 passengers at a distance of up to 2,700 miles, and costs around $36 million in its basic configuration.
