Troublesome Chinese planes to go under the hammer in Nepal: report
The Nepali daily said State-owned airlines have been eager to get rid of the non-flying planes, but bureaucratic hassles forced it to hold on to them even as losses mounted.
Kathmandu [Nepal], November 19 (ANI): State-owned Nepal Airlines has made a decision to sell Chinese planes and spare parts, which are plagued by breakdowns and a lack of pilots.
Right after they arrived, the three 17-seater and two 56-seater aircraft had turned into “the most expensive white elephants in the carrier’s history, The Kathmandu Post reported citing officials.
The five condemned planes are parked at the remote parking bay on the eastern side of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the report said.
The Nepali daily said state-owned airlines have been eager to get rid of the non-flying planes, but bureaucratic hassles forced it to hold on to them even as losses mounted.
Back in September, Nepal Airlines put the Chinese planes up for lease with October 31 deadline for bidders. After there were no bids, the deadline was extended until November 16.
Nepal Airlines spokesperson Archana Khadka said they didn’t get a single bid during the extended time either. “Now the management has decided to sell them off.”
Khadka said they would issue a notice to appoint an international assessor to determine a fair market value of the planes, after Sunday’s general elections.
“It may take two to three weeks to appoint the assessor. Based on the assessor’s report, we will float a global tender to sell the planes,” Khadka was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.
He added that it would take at least two months to complete the process.
After the signing of the agreement in 2012 under the grant and concessional loan aid with the Chinese side, Nepal received the first batch of planes in 2014.
However, the delivery of the rest of the Chinese aircraft was stalled for years. (ANI)
