RUSSIA's Volga Dnepr says the heavy-lift air cargo market continues to grow despite the downturn, resulting in a need for the airline to acquire 20 new AN-124 heavy lift aircraft in the next 10 years and another 20 in the following decade. Volga Dnepr Group says the market for project air cargo grew from US$768 million in 2007 to $1.1 billion in 2008 and consultancy studies show the airline needs 70 AN-124 scale airplanes by 2030. Volga Dnepr is working with a Russian aviation technology company to maximise the life of existing AN-124 aircraft.