Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) signed a contract on Wednesday under which both the consortiums will convert Airbus A320 passenger planes into freighters. The contract signed at the ongoing Farnborough air show here in England will enable the conversion of 30 A320 and A321 aircraft.

The contract is subsequent to an agreement signed on 22 March 2007 between UABC, Russia's Irkut, Airbus and EADS, the owner of Airbus. Post-agreement, the companies registered a joint venture named Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH in Germany in May 2007.

"For UABC, the project to convert A320 planes is of considerable interest," UABC CEO Alexei Fyodorov said at the signing ceremony.

Irkut, which manufactures the redoubtable Sukhoi family of fighters, will be the lead contractor for the project which will come up at Zhukovsky, near Moscow. The first aircraft will be converted in 2011, while mass conversions will start in 2012.

The conversions will be done for AerCap, a Netherlands-based aviation company providing aircraft and engine leasing, trading and parts sales.

The companies project an annual turnover of up to $200 million for the project.