Uzbek authorities and Airbus signed a Letter of Intent Wednesday for supply of 34 helicopters to Uzbekistan, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, the Secretary of State to the French Minister for European and Foreign Affairs said at a press briefing.
“Airbus had been supplying helicopters for several years, and now we are talking about resuming them,” he said. “These helicopters will help strengthen Uzbekistan’s armed forces capacity.”
According to him, Écureuil (Squirrel) helicopters are to be supplied This helicopter is adapted for operation in severe conditions, as well as mountains and hot climate. According to the manufacturer, It could also be used for a wide range of tasks, including fire fighting, power line monitoring, cargo lifting, crop pollination, aerial video shooting, parachuting and geological prospecting.
The delivery cost and timetables were not announced, however, Jean-Baptiste Lemoine noted that the Uzbekistan PM Abdulla Aripov, with whom he met on the eve, was satisfied with the offered discount.
The secretary of state added that the French manufacturer of information systems for the aviation industry Thales had signed a contract for the supply of pilot training simulators.
In addition, Baptiste Lemoine said that with France will help develop a project for integrated hydropower plant management strategy to be implemented at the Charvak hydroelectric station in the Tashkent province. which he also visited during the visit.
“This will be the first project of this kind in Central Asia,” he said. “This is a project to modernize this hydropower plant to ensure its integrated management.”
The French Development Agency will take part in the project finance for the modernization of the Charvak HPP, while, EUR 13 million will be invested directly into Charvak HPP, while a total of 60 million euros are scheduled to be invested for the cascade of three hydroelectric power stations.
