12 June, Kathmandu: Citizen’s Investment Trust and Nepal Airlines Corporation on Monday signed an agreement to purchase an aircraft.

As per the agreement, the CIT is to provide Rs 12 billion to the NAC for aircraft purchase.

At a programme organized at the CIT office, its Executive Director Ram Krishna Pokhrel and Director General at NAC, Sugat Ratna Kansakar, signed the agreement. Earlier, such agreement was made only with the Employee Provident Fund.

The loan has been provided at nine per cent interest rate. The interest rate would not change until the aircraft makes first commercial flight. The payment deadline for loan is set for 15 years.

It is the first loan the CIT is providing for the commercial planning of the aviation sector. It is expected that with realization of the plan the country would boost tourism, and create more jobs to boost the economic prosperity.

NAC has planned to buy a wide bodied airbus (A 330-200).
CIT Executive Director Pokharel said Nepal would need 50 aircrafts to expand tourism. The CIT would continue assisting NAC in this regard.

Similarly, Managing Director at NAC Kansakar said the agreement reached today was historic to prop up the national tourism. RSS