But with no ships and the construction costs mounting, CargoLifter shares plunged 75%. In March the German press predicted the company would be out of money come April. Von Gablenz says the company will issue up to $40 million in convertible bonds, and the German government appears poised to offer additional aid. In the meantime CargoLifter has a stopgap product-the CL75, a $10 million balloon meant to be dragged through the air by ropes and tractors. The company sold one to HeavyLift Canada (a company in which it has a 20% stake), which intends to use it for hauling oil rigs over the tundra.JEDDAH, 15 May- Taking advantage of the privatization and expansion of the Kingdom’s huge energy sector and the growing market potential for transportation this would entail, German manufacturers have introduced to potential Saudi partners and authorities a flying airship that can carry up to 75 tons non-stop over a distance of 3,500 kilometers. The giant CL160 and CL75 AirCrane by the Frankfurt-based CargoLifter company are designed to carry extra load over long distances in the shortest possible time compared to other means of transport. Two of the company executives, Dirk Steffes and Peter Lennemann are currently visiting the Kingdom to present the airship to the Saudi market. They said the business community and officials have so far shown high level of interest in the project. Talking to Arab News during a visit to Jeddah, the two managing directors regard the potential for this transport system very high given the Kingdom’s privatization drive and the opening up of new business avenues including larger power generation units, oil industry installations, offshore energy projects and shipment of goods from port to site locations. The CargoLifter executives said the company is looking for further investors to broaden the shareholder base. The company will sell the service and not the airship, which is being built at a cost of 100 million euros. Commercial operation is expected to start by the year 2005.
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