Iran will buy five Russian Tu-204-100 airliners, the head of an Iranian airline said Tuesday.

“Iran Air Tour airlines has concluded a contract with Russia for the delivery of five modern Tu-204 [passenger] planes,” Abbas Purmohammadi told an Iranian news agency. “The planes will be delivered to Iran by the end of 2008.”

The official said Iran and Russia have been negotiating the deal for seven years, and finally reached an agreement on the price and delivery schedule.

“The contract was signed September 16,” Purmohammadi said. “The Russian company [Ilyushin Finance Co.] pledges to deliver the planes to Iran within 18 months.”

The Tu-204-100 is a mid-range, 210-passenger aircraft powered by two PS-90A engines. The aircraft was commissioned in February 1995, and is currently operated by several Russian airlines, including Sibyr and Krasnoyarsk Airlines.

The plane features high reliability and cost efficiency, both on domestic and international routes. It is manufactured in Ulyanovsk and Kazan, in the Volga region.
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