Algeria to buy 16 new aircrafts and 25 new ships

Algeria’s Council of State participation (CPE) Monday gave the go-ahead to the ministry of transport to buy 16 new planes for national airline Air Algerie and 25 ships for the National Corporation for Maritime Transport, Echorouk has learnt.

This comes as the National Corporation for Maritime Transport was on the verge of bankruptcy and it hired foreign ships for freight.

The government’s decision to rebuild sea and air fleet is a “brave” step which shows that the policy of Algeria’s new Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal is totally different from that of his predecessor.

The Public Treasury will avoid additional freight-related expenses. One average single ship will cost about $30 million. That means Algeria will pay not more than $750 million while its freight-related annual losses have been estimated at about $5 billion since 2002.

If the government chooses US maker Boeing, a 150-passengers-aircraft will cost $120 million. That means the rebuilding of air fleet with new planes n conformity with European standards will cost no more than $1.92 billion.

The government has raised the problem of dysfunction in the air and sea fleet for many times, stressing the necessity of a radical review so that allocated money would not be used up in vain.

The decision also comes as the government refuses to open air transport to private sector.

Earlier, Algeria announced that it allocated $700 million to buy 11 civil aircrafts.