8 Nov 2022 11:48

Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov building second An-225 Mriya aircraft

MOSCOW. Nov 8 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov has started building the second An-225 Mriya aircraft instead of the one lost in Gostomel in the Kiev region in February, Antonov CEO Yevgeny Gavrilov said.

"The work is being done in a secret place. The second An-225 will be built using both new components and parts of the damaged plane," Ukrainian media quoted Gavrilov as saying in an interview with Bild.

Gavrilov said 30% of the new plane has already been built, and the entire cost of the plane's construction is estimated at 500 million euros.

Antonov also plans to arrange the sale of merchandize at an exhibition at the Leipzig/Halle Airport, where the company is based temporarily, to raise funds for the plane's construction, he said.

The company said later in a statement that it only started design engineering work on a new plane and had only 30% of the necessary components for building it.

"Design engineering work has begun for this purpose now. According to expert estimates, about 30% of components that can be used for the second plane are available now. The cost of the plane's construction has been estimated at least at 500 million euros. However, it is too early to speak about an exact sum," Antonov said.