Russian Helicopters' Novosibirsk Aircraft Repair Plant (NARZ) has completed the reconstruction of its final assembly building.

The work was carried out as part of a self-funded 2018-2020 investment programme, and the project budget amounted to approximately 160 million rubles. Production will reach design capacity by June 2020.

“This project is part of a large scale programme for the technical re-equipment and modernisation of production, which the Russian Helicopters holding has been implementing since 2009,” says CEO Andrei Boginsky. “During this time, 26 facilities have already been built and modernised at nine different enterprises, including four projects under the state programme for the development of the military-industrial complex.”

Reconstruction of the workshop, with an area of ​​more than 8,000 sqm, will increase the volume of work performed by 50 per cent, which means NARZ will be able to repair up to three Mi-26 helicopters or up to 48 Mi-8/17 helicopters per year. The facility has been equipped with lifting mechanisms for installing and removing heavy units, and its increased height enables all types of repair to be undertaken at the one site. In addition, the energy efficiency of production has been improved through the use of modern thermal insulation materials and the transition to LED lighting.

At the end of 2019, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation) issued NARZ with a certificate for aviation equipment development, allowing it to develop and make minor changes to the design of the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters. NARZ was the first of Russian Helicopters' repair plants to be thus certified.