Yildirim: Turkey to manufacture aeroplanes

Turkey plans to manufacture aeroplanes with a 60 to 120 passenger capacity, Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yildirim said during an interview on the state-run TRT Haber channel. Yildirim said that his ministry made a presentation at the cabinet meeting on why Turkey should produce planes and that the cabinet reached a consensus on the issue. "If Turkey is to be one of the 10 largest world economies by 2023, it should have a place in that sector," said Yildirim. Underlining that there are more than 400 companies in aviation sectors some of which are doing business with Boeing and Airbus, Yildirim added that Turkey would make a deal with these companies to manufacture planes. The planes will be regional ones designed to fly for approximately three hours. Yildirim also said that one of the goals was to decrease the current account deficit, quoting a $14.5 billion expenditure on aircrafts and related equipment in the last decade.