Iran studies plan to fund for plane purchase

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

With an aim to renovate its ageing aviation fleet, the Iranian government is taking various measures to store new planes.

An Iranian official has said the country is studying a plan to create a fund to provide loans to enable domestic businesses to purchase the planes.

Maqsood As’adi-Samani, the secretary of the Iranian Aviation and Space Industries Association said on August 4 that a plan to the same effect has been presented to the relevant authorities, Fars news agency reported.

Iran’s need for passenger planes has increased as the country expects to see an improvement in its transactions with foreign countries following the nuclear deal between Tehran and six the world powers.

As’adi-Samani said the plan envisages the creation of a bank by the IASIA, stressing that the bank will answer the existing shortfalls in the budgets of domestic companies for purchasing planes.

He emphasized that this is a shortcoming that needs to be addressed by the banks and financial institutions “as is customary in other countries”.

The official went on to say that Iran’s aviation companies are unable to provide all the required funds to buy planes by relying on their current revenues.

He further said the establishment of IASIA’s own bank – which he said could be named the Air Transport Development Bank of Iran – can eventually help with the renovation of Iran’s aviation fleet.

As’adi-Samani noted that the required funds for the proposed bank will be provided from the National Development Fund as well as certain related financial facilities.

The Islamic republic also plans to buy as many as 90 planes per year from Boeing and Airbus to revamp its antiquated fleet once Western sanctions are lifted.

Iranian officials earlier said the county will need 400-500 civilian aircraft worth at least $20 billion in the next decade to renovate its aging fleet which has suffered under years of U.S. and European sanctions.

Earlier this year, Iran added 9 new planes less than 10 years old to its air fleet.

The U.S.-led sanctions on aircraft and spare parts exports to Iran have left Iranian airlines saddled with not only some of the oldest fleets in the Middle East, but also in the world.

Iran's four largest carriers – Iran Air, Aseman Airlines, Mahan Air and Iran Air Tours – all have average fleet ages above 22 years, according to Iranian media outlets.