New Aircraft Arrives
Overcome 'poor management'
Muhith asks Biman
As the first newly procured brand new aircraft from Boeing arrived in Dhaka last evening, Finance Minister AMA Muhith asked the Biman authorities to bring change to its "poor management" for reaping maximum benefit out of the new airliner.
"I have told them that your management is poor and with this there will be no gain out of the asset (new aircraft). They need to be changed and Biman must be a commercial organisation", Muhith told reporters at his secretariat office yesterday.
He made the remarks after a meeting with chargé d'affaires of US embassy in Dhaka, Nicholas J Dean. The US diplomat thanked the finance minister for purchasing the aircraft.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will officially unveil the airplane, Boeing 777-300 ER (extended range), on October 26 after she returns home from Germany.
The Biman officials received the aircraft at a ceremony in Seattle, USA on Friday.
The second Boeing 777-300 ER of the first batch will be handed over to Bangladesh on November 21.
The new planes are joining the ageing fleet of Biman Bangladesh Airlines under a deal signed with the US aviation giant Boeing Company in June 2008. As per the contract, Biman will procure 10 new aircrafts at a cost of Tk 17,250 crore by 2017.
With the new one, the number of Biman aircrafts rises to 12. At present, Biman Bangladesh Airlines operates flights to only 19 cities in two continents.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments