REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesia would produce N219 aircraft in 2014, Minister of Research and Technology, Gusti Muhammad Hatta, said. The aircraft can hold up to 19 passengers.

"At this moment we are still at designing it. We will make the prototype in 2013. Then, in 2014, we will make the type," Minister Hatta said on Thursday.

It will serve people to reach remote location and mountains. Having two propellers, the aircraft only needs 500-meter airstrip.

"We need air transportation because it can transport effectively, ad unite the nation by reaching remote area and supporting other sectors," he said.

The Ministry prepares 310 billion IDR to make the prototype. Several organizations including National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), PT Dirgantara Indonesia, and Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) are involved in this project.

Chairman of LAPAN, Bambang S Tejasukamana, said about four prototypes, used for flight and structure test, would be produced in 2013. He said that almost 70 percent of airports in Indonesia had airstrip less than 800 meters.

Several airlines have ordered 50 units of N219 aircraft. Tejasukamana claimed the aircraft would be cheaper than similar aircraft produced in other countries. LAPAN also plans to produce N245 in 2016 and N270 in 2017.

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