Moscow (PTI): India and Russia will speed up their joint Multi-role Transport Aircraft (MTA) project by one year with the signing of a USD 8.5 million deal next month for starting work on design of the aircraft.

Russian arms exporting monopoly Rosoboronexport (ROE) and India's Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd (HAL) will ink a deal in April for developing a draft design of the MTA, Kommersant daily said, quoting Russian sources.

The deal will accelerate the USD 600 million MTA project by one year, said Viktor Livanov, director of aircraft manufacturer MAK Ilyushin, the Russian partner in the project.

Russia and India signed an intergovernmental agreement on the MTA project in January 2007.

"In February, we agreed with India not to wait for creating a joint venture -- which our and Indian bureaucracy will take exactly a year -- but sign in April a direct intermediate contract of HAL and Rosoboronexport for elaborating the MTA draft design," Livanov was quoted as saying by Kommersant.

"The contract budget is about USD 8.5 million; the draft design is to be detailised in two years. The plans are that the jet takes off in 2013 and is certified in 2015," Livanov said.

Earlier, the initial Russian partner in the 50-50 venture, 'Irkut' corporation walked out of the MTA project, after which Ilyushin was roped in.

Analysts say Ilyushin, which is short on qualified personnel, could be a risky partner although its Il-214 transport plane has been picked as the prototype of the Indo-Russian MTA.

A delegation of HAL is expected in Moscow next week to study the draft design of the Il-214.