Purchase Of Two Boeing Aircraft
Biman seeks BB fund for pre-delivery payment
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has sought funds from Bangladesh Bank to pay the pre-delivery payment for purchasing two new Boeing-737-800 aircraft which are due to join Biman’s fleet in mid-2015, said Biman officials. Biman would have to pay around $ 53.5 million as PDP before December 1 this year, but Biman does not have the funds, they added.Biman managing director Kevin Steele on Monday sent a letter to the secretary of civil aviation and tourism ministry seeking the funds from Bangladesh Bank as Biman could not manage the loan against the sovereign guarantee of the government. The letter said that Biman had to pay the PDP on October 1 for purchasing the two new Boeing-737-800 aircraft. Later, the time was extended until December 1.
Biman has got a sovereign guarantee from the government on October 7 for raising funds to pay the PDP and it floated a request for proposal (RFP) to pay around $ 53.5 million as PDP.
Eventually, it was not possible to arrange the loan before December 1. For this, Biman needs the decision from finance ministry and civil aviation and tourism ministry to get a loan from the reserve of Bangladesh Bank.
Biman managing director Kevin Steele told New Age that Biman has the sovereign guarantee from the government to pay the PDP for the two new Boeing-737-800 aircraft.
Accordingly, Biman floated a RFP for paying the PDP and the RFP would not be closed until November 18, he added.
Kevin also said, ‘As a backup and only if we get no positive responses from the RFP, we have requested Bangladesh Bank to provide the loan for Biman in this regard’.
In contrast, Bangladesh Bank had paid around $ 118 million from its reserve for Biman for the purchase of two Boeing-777-300ER aircraft which are due to join Biman’s fleet in next February or March.
Moreover, Bangladesh Bank had also paid for the PDP for the first and second Boeing-777-300ER aircraft which had already been added to the fleet in October and November 2011.
Earlier, Biman MD Kevin had sent a letter to the civil aviation and tourism secretary seeking Tk 800 crore on September 19.
The letter said that Biman has new aircraft, properties and machineries but does not have the cash. It also said that if the government cannot give the money, Biman would sell its two existing Boeing-777-300 aircraft and take lease of fuel-efficient aircraft for operating flights.
But when Biman had got the sovereign guarantee from the government it changed its decision of selling out the two aircraft.
Earlier, Biman signed a contract with US aircraft manufacturer, the Boeing Company, to purchase eight aircraft at a cost of Tk 8,728 crore in 2008. Of them, four aircraft are of Boeing-777-300ER model and remaining four Boeing-787-8 model.
Apart from procuring the eight Boeings, Biman later ordered for another two Boeing-737-800 aircraft. Biman took a syndicated loan at 4.57 per cent interest from nine local banks.
Biman signed initial contract with the Boeing on March 15, 2011. On April 22, 2011, Biman finalised the contract with the Boeing to procure a total of 10 aircraft.
In accordance with the contract, the first two Boeing-777-300ER aircraft had already been added to Biman’s fleet in October and November, 2011.
According to the delivery order, the rest two Boeing-777-300ER aircraft were scheduled to be added to Bi
man fleet in next February or March.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines incurred losses of Tk 200 crore in the last fiscal year 2012-13, but made improvement from the FY 2011-12 when it sustained losses of Tk 600 crore. But it anticipates Tk 80 crore loss in the FY 2013-14.
-With New Age input
