The Indian government"s security committee...
The initial refit agreement of $750 million went up by an additional $1.5 billion. In line with the contract, the aircraft carrier will be handed over to India by 2012.
"The cabinet security committee has approved the Gorshkov"s new price," the agency quoted an unnamed Indian defense official as saying.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin"s two-day visit to India starts Thursday. He is expected to sign the additional contract for the Admiral Gorshkov upgrade.
The Admiral Gorshkov is a modified Kiev-class aircraft carrier, originally named Baku. The ship was laid down in 1978 at the Nikolayev South shipyard in Ukraine, launched in 1982, and commissioned with the Soviet Navy in 1987.
It was renamed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1994, following a boiler room explosion, the Admiral Gorshkov sat in dock for a year for repairs. In 1995 it briefly returned to service and in 1996 was finally withdrawn and put up for sale.