Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev inaugurated a newly reconstructed radio-engineering plant at the Defense Industry Ministry's Cihaz Production Unit on March 16, the AzerTaj news agency reported.
Aliyev laid flowers by the bust of his father, national leader Heydar Aliyev, outside the plant.
The president cut the red ribbon at the inauguration ceremony.
Aliyev attaches importance to the radio-engineering sector. Actions have been taken to modernize the country's defense industry. Sixteen production facilities have already been put into operation. The mass manufacturing of defense products has commenced in accordance with international standards.
Aliyev has ordered the construction and overhauling of 17 facilities as part of the 2009 state investment program. Under the auspices of an earlier program, as many as 213 defense products were produced in 2007 and 300 in 2008. Firearms, short-range ammunition and artillery weapons are also now produced.
Various ammunition was produced and supplied in large numbers in recent years. The volume of goods increased 6.1 times in 2008 compared to 2005. A total of 435 defense products and spare parts including modern armored personnel carriers, anti-tank mines, optic scopes and aviation training bombs will be produced in 2009. As total of 163 technological items and over 5,000 instruments have been purchased from Germany, the U.S., Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Ukraine, Turkey, China, Russia, Belarus, Korea and other countries.
Technological equipment will be purchased and installed in 2009 to establish facilities to produce 7 more types of defense products.
At the ceremony, Aliyev learned that the Baku Radio Plant was the first radio-engineering plant in Azerbaijan founded at the Local Industry Ministry in 1947.
Azerbaijan produced Baki-48 and Araz radio sets, Araz-M and Baki-58 radios, KVN, Rekord-12, Aelita and Granit television sets, Khazar transistors and universal electronic calculators. The plant also produced various universal electronic calculator facilities, which were used at the Soviet Radio Industry Ministry's enterprises in 1980.
The enterprise later merged with a robotics plant and was renamed the Radiogurashdirma Baku Production Unit in 1984. The enterprise operated under the Cabinet of Ministers in 1991 and State Special Machine-Building and Conversion Committee in August 1993. The plant has been part of the Defense Industry Ministry since 2006.
Aliyev watched videos about the plant before reconstruction. He observed the production process and toured an exhibition of the plant's products. Products manufactured together with leading foreign companies were also on display.
Azerbaijani law enforcement agencies use the products produced at the plant. The products possess high tactical and technical features. The plant intends to manufacture civil and double-usage products. The plant has begun to produce competitive products for export to foreign countries.
The plant currently employs 350 people.
The entire 1,800-square-meter administrative building was overhauled.
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