Russia to use NWF to fully finance subsidized leasing program for civil aviation

MOSCOW. April 26 (Interfax) - Russia will completely finance the subsidized leasing program for civilian aircraft from the National Welfare Fund (NWF), Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said.

The NWF was previously expected to finance only 60% of the program.

"Following a recent meeting with the president, a decision was made on 100% advances and financing for leasing projects in aviation through the National Welfare Fund," Manturov said in an interview with TV channel Rossiya 24. "Last year, in the month of July, we discussed allocating funds from the NWF in a proportion of 60% to 40%," he recalled.

This refers to the program to support leasing of Russian-built civilian aircraft in the period to 2030 that was discussed at a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin last July. Manturov said at the time that over the next three years Russia would allocate more than 200 billion rubles from the NWF at 1.5% annual interest and that NWF funds would provide 60% of the financing needed for the program and the other 40% would come from extra-budgetary sources.

It was later reported that Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov had approved a government order for aircraft with cofinancing from the NWF in the amount of 279 billion rubles in 2022-2024, including 79 billion rubles in 2022 and 100 billion rubles in both 2023 and 2024.