Azerbaijan, Baku, 15 April / corr. Trend E. Huseyinli/ For the first time in its history, a Ministry of Defense Industry plant in Azerbaijan has launched the production of 29 makes of weapons, together with spare parts and serial ammunition. Yavar Jamalov, the defense industry minister of Azerbaijan said in the meeting of Cabinet of Ministers on the social and economic development of the country in first quarter of 2008.
The Ministry of Defense Industry has been operating since 2006. The restoration programs developed by the Ministry for 2008-2011 envisage the reconstruction of 53 projects.
According to Jamalov, the production of defense facilities has increased 4-fold since 2006. From its start, the ministry has produced 212 names of defense facilities, the possibilities of production of 32 names has been studied and 175 names of defense facilities for civil purposes have been produced.
In 2007, the rise in production of facilities for defense, special and civil purposes totaled to 54.8%. The range of products reached 280 names.
During the course of 2008, the rise in production of facilities for defense, special and civil purposes is expected to make up 42%. In first quarter, a rise in production totaled to 35.4% as compared to the same period of 2007. The range of products produced in January and March 2008 increased from 51 to 213.