NAC to buy Chinese aircraft

The government, today, signed an agreement to buy one MA 60 and three Y12E aircraft under soft loan from China, while the Chinese government has agreed to provide one MA 60 and Y12E aircraft each on grant.

The government had decided to buy the aircraft on November 25.

Joint secretary of the ministry of culture, tourism and civil aviation Ranjan Krishna Aryal and acting general manager of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) Raju Bahadur KC signed the agreement on behalf of the Nepali government and corporation, while Asia director of Avic International Yang Kun Bang and general representative and programme manager Song Siyao Nong signed on behalf of the Chinese side.

The first lot of aircraft will be delivered to Nepal as soon as possible, the national flag carrier said. The aircraft purchase plan will be completed when Axim Bank of China decides to float a soft loan to the government.

According to the corporation, one small and one big aircraft will be delivered in Kathmandu early next year, and the remaining aircraft will be delivered in the following five months.

Meanwhile, the cabinet today decided to appoint Madan Kharel as the general manager of Nepal Airlines Corporation. 

The appointment process was withheld earlier as NAC already had its executive chairman Manrup Shahi. Shahi was appointed as executive chairman after Sugat Ratna Kansakar. However, after Shahi resigned, the selection process restarted.

Kharel, through open competition, was appointed as officer at NAC in 1986 and has served the corporation for 26 years. He has also worked as country manager of NAC station at Shanghai for four years, in Dubai for three years, and for a month in Doha.