Iran to hold tender to find plane purchase financiers

EghtesadOnline: Iran says it is planning to hold an international tender to find financiers for its plane purchase plans from aviation giants Airbus and Boeing.

News ID: ۷۴۱۳۷۱

07 May 2017

Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, Iran’s deputy minister of road and urban development, told domestic media that the national flag-carrier Iran Air was already preparing the documents for the planned tender, PressTV reported.

“Iran Air is preparing the tender documents so that they would be sent to all credible financers across the world,” Fakhrieh Kashan told the state news agency IRNA.

“We are in conditions that allow us choose our desired financers in a competitive atmosphere that a tender creates.”

The official further acknowledged that Britain’s key export credit agency – UK Export Finance (UKEF) – had proposed a plan to facilitate the financing of aircraft purchases from Boeing and Airbus.

He said the UKEF had informed Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development that it was ready to provide funding for all of Iran’s purchases from the two aviation giants.

Fakhrieh Kashan said the UKEF had even announced that it could resolve any banking problem that might occur as a result of sanctions.

He said the agency had announced that it would even provide cash for the purchases instead of banks should a problem emerge.

“Iran held a round of talks with the agency over its proposal. However, we did not continue because any move to provide funds for national projects need to be in line with the general policies of the state,” said Fakhrieh Kashan.

“We believe that the international atmosphere is to our benefit and we can provide the funds for our purchases through competitive mechanisms so that we would not have to rely on one single source.”