Zimbabwe to lease 15 planes from Malaysia to save ailing national carrier

david nganga

December 13, 2017 3:19 PM

Air Zimbabwe is reeling under a $330m debt

The Zimbabwe government plans to lease at least 15 planes from Malaysia as part of efforts to resuscitate the countrys struggling national airline, Air Zimbabwe.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Joram Gumbo on Monday told state-run Herald newspaper that the new planes were going to be bought through a public-private partnership.

"The Civil Aviation Authority is on the verge of acquiring 15 new air planes from Malaysia under a lease agreement. The deal was penned between government and a private company DIDG, a consortium of business partners from the diaspora," he said.

Gumbo said that the agreement would be renewed every five years.

Air Zimbabwe is reeling under a $330m debt with two of its aircraft impounded by creditors at the United Kingdom’s Gatwick Airport and OR International Airport in South Africa in 2011.

The national airline's problems have paved way to more than 10 regional and international carriers which have been plying to the route Harare since 2010.

david nganga