Dhaka's Biman seals deal for 10 Boeing planes
Saturday, 28 June 2008, 17:32 IST
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Dhaka: Biman Bangladesh Airlines has sealed a deal with U.S. aircraft giant Boeing for 10 new aircraft - four 777-300ERs (Extended Range), four 787-8 Dreamliners and two 737-800s - at a cost of $2.5 billion. The deal, overseen by the US Department of Commerce, Washington DC, and signed at its office, also includes Biman's purchase rights to six more planes - two 777-300ERs, two 787-8s and two 737-800s. Biman signed a deal with Boeing earlier to buy the 777-300ERs and the 787-8s. In the final deal Wednesday, Biman added the two 737-800s with the option to buy two more, The Daily Star said Friday. Mahbub Jamil, special assistant to the chief adviser and chairman of the Biman Board of Directors, and M.A. Momen, managing director and CEO of Biman, signed the agreement on behalf of Biman while senior vice-president (sales) Marty Bentrott signed the agreement on behalf of Boeing. Speaking as the special guest of the deal-singing ceremony, Congressman James McDermott called for an end to unfair duty treatment on products from Least Developed Countries (LDC) like Bangladesh. "This is the first time Biman is buying aircraft without any political or government interference since its birth in 1972," the newspaper said. This is a turn-around for Biman, the struggling, loss-making national carrier that became a public limited company in July last year. Donald Camp, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Department of State, termed the deal an evidence of potential of the growing economy of Bangladesh.
Source: IANS
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