Details were added after sixth paragraph (first version was posted at в 15:32)
Kazakhstan , Astana, Feb. 17 / Trend A.Maratov /
Over $ 80 million will be invested in technical modernization of the Kazakh Army in the next five years, JSC Kazakhstan Engineering Vice-President Vadim Shakshakbayev said.
"These will be direct investments of the European companies, when partners invest not only real money, but also bring with them transfer technology and intellectual property," Shakshakbayev told journalists on Thursday.
Foreign direct investments, he said, will be invested in Kazakhstan through joint ventures under the auspices of the Defense Ministry.
By the end of 2011, Kazakhstan will produce the first helicopters in cooperation with the French Eurocopter Company, he said.
"We plan to produce about 45 helicopters with Eurocopter for two years, said Shakshakbayev. - This was the conditions for this company's entry to the Kazakh market."
However, the potential for production and joint assembly of the helicopter is much higher, he said. Therefore, it is planned that about 100 helicopters will be produced over the next five years.
According to Shakshakbayev, the production of helicopters is designed not only for the domestic market of Kazakhstan. "With the establishment of the Customs Union, we intend to export the products manufactured by these joint ventures to CIS countries," he said.
Joint production of helicopters by Kazakhstan and French Eurocopter is the only company in the CIS.
Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov stated about the establishment of such a joint venture to assemble helicopters already last year. First orders were made in the 2011 budget for this production, including equipping the country's regions with "flying hospital".
Another joint Kazakh-French project will be the production of unmanned aerial systems in cooperation with the French Sagem Company, a member of the Safran group. Unmanned aerial systems are needed for the army, the protection of state borders, oil and gas pipelines, they can transmit information online.
Also it is planned to cooperate with Israel in the manufacture and repair of armored vehicles and heavy civil vehicles.
Zenith JSC, part of JSC "NC" Kazakhstan Engineering ", also has orders for naval vessels, said Shakshakbayev.
