Planemakers eye Merpati investment
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Chinese and Russian aircraft manufacturers are considering investing in Indonesia’s ailing state-owned carrier, Merpati Nusantara Airlines.
The Antara news agency reported Indonesia’s state enterprises minister, Dahlan Iskan, as saying that China’s Xian Aircraft Industrial Corporation and Russia’s Sukhoi have both expressed interest in helping the cash-strapped carrier return to the skies.
“Xian has officially written to the State Enterprises Ministry to help develop Merpati, and so has Sukhoi,” Dahlan was quoted saying said after a meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.
Xian manufactures the MA-60 turboprop aircraft, 14 of which are operated by Merpati. Sukhoi meanwhile, makes the Superjet100 regional jet, which is operated by two other Indonesian carriers, Sky Aviation and Kartika Airlines.
Both the MA-60 and Superjet100 have had suffered fatal crashes in Indonesia in recent years, including the loss of one Merpati MA-60 off the coast of West Papua in 2011.
Merpati suspended its operations on 1 February 2014 due to rising debts, and the Indonesian government is now seeking new investors to secure the carrier’s future.
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