Airbus to provide aircraft to NAC under previous pact

Airbus, the leading European aircraft manufacturer, has agreed to provide new planes as per the agreement the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) had signed with it in 2009.

A two-day meeting between NAC and Airbus representatives that concluded on Wednesday ended in the understanding.

Airbus has agreed to provide the planes under the same deal signed back in 2009, but the cost of the planes will be higher now, said Raju Bahadur KC, acting managing director of NAC.

As per the deal signed three years ago, the Airbus had quoted US$ 41.289 million for A320-200 series and US$ 92.845 million for A330-200 series.

The report of the meeting would be forwarded to the concerned authorities and ministries and the purchase of planes would move forward as per the government decision, according to KC.

The meeting was fruitful to proceed upon the next round of talks for the purchase of aircrafts, said the NAC official.

The national flag carrier had decided to purchase two aircraft- one narrow body and another wide body - from the Airbus on October 26, 2009. However, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Legislative Parliament had on December 28, 2009 recommended the government authorities including the Finance Ministry and the NAC to cancel the process for purchasing new aircraft due to controversy.

The committee had also recommended for improvement in the management in the state-owned airliner before purchasing new aircraft. The committee had also asked the NAC to restart the purchasing process from the beginning.

The NAC has invited Airbus official for talks for the purchase of new planes following the government’s Immediate Governance and Economy Development Action Plan 2012 unveiled on October 16. nepalnews.com