New Delhi, Dec 8 (Inditop.com) India and Russia have “successfully” concluded the agreement on the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Russia. Following is the timeline of fixing the final price of the craft:
1978 – The keel for the Kiev class aircraft carrier was laid in Ukraine. It was launched in the waters four years later
1987 – Commissioned in the USSR Navy as Baku
1991 – Renamed Admiral Gorshkov after the collapse of USSR
1995 – An explosion in the boiler room led to the docking of the ship for one year
1996 – It was withdrawn from the navy and offered for sale
2004 – Agreement signed with India under which Russia agreed to gift the aircraft carrier to the Indian Navy but India was to pay $974 million to modify and upgrade it. India paid an initial amount of $650 million
2007 – Russia cited mistake in calculations and demanded another $1.2 billion. Pushed back delivery date from 2008 to 2012
2009 – Russia added another $700 million to the bill saying sea trials would be more expensive. In total it has demanded close to $2.9 billion for the aircraft carrier
Dec 7, 2009 – India and Russia fix final price for the aircraft carrier during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow, but there is no detail about the exact amount or when it will be delivered.
