Ukraine said it was looking for investors for the An-225 Mriya, one of the world’s largest transport planes.

The An-225 was developed during the Soviet Union for the mission to transport the Buran spaceplane, and its production was completed in 1988. In 1989, construction of the second aircraft began, but construction of the platform remained unfinished.

Authorities want to develop the Mriya-2 variant by making a series of modernizations on the aircraft, which has not been completed. Sergei Bychkov, Acting General Manager of Antonov State Enterprise, said the aircraft needs engines and avionics.

Former Ukrainian State Space Agency President Vladimir Usov said the cost of completing the construction of the transport plane would be worth about a billion dollars.

Equipped with the Ivchenko-Progress design, Six ZMKB Progress D-18 turbofan engines produced by Motor Sich, the An-225 Mriya aircraft carried out its missions to deliver humanitarian supplies to different countries around the world as part of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kiev announced that it is looking for investors to participate in the joint implementation of the aircraft project.