Boeing representatives say taking part in the special economic zone Titanium Valley project will give their company an opportunity not to be affected by various calamitous events such the recent earthquake in Japan. However, Boeing has not decided what kind of produce its new facility will come up with yet; nor has the carrier settled down the issue of how much it is going to invest.

‘We could decide upon making titanium airplane parts. It is difficult to speak of exact investment sums just yet. We are talking about approximately $20m to $50m for the development of the production facilities,’ said the airline’s Supplies Director John Byrne during his recent visit to Yekaterinburg.

The executive explained Titanium Valley was not without its drawbacks.

‘Firstly, the location itself, that is, the climate, is a problem. Then, one should consider the mere scale of the building jobs investments. Finally, the engineering and survey work will take there twice as long compared with the other special economic zones,’ he said, although he did admit the preferences offered by the local authorities to the Titanium Valley residents are comparable with those offered elsewhere.