Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 18
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran is interested in long-term aircraft lease, Iranian Minister of Transportation Abbas Akhoundi said.
Akhoundi made the remarks while addressing CAPA Iran Aviation Finance Summit in Tehran on Sept. 18, Mehr news agency reported.
Akhoundi further said that BOT (Build-operate-transfer) and BLT (build-lease-transfer) arrangements also are on the agenda to attract foreign investment.
The Islamic Republic supports developing domestic and foreign leasing companies, Akhoundi said, adding that the ministry is working to establish several leasing firms in the aviation industry.
Currently, 60 airports are operating in the country, meanwhile over 80 percent of the flights are carried out in 10 airports, he said.
Iran welcomes investment for development of its airports, Akhoundi added.
The Islamic Republic also is updating its navigation system, he said, adding that almost $250 million investment was made in this regard.
The Iranian minister further said that the foreign companies are required to have a minimum capital of at least $100 million to establish an aviation company in Iran.
The two-day CAPA Iran Aviation Finance Summit opened at Novotel Imam Khomeini International Airport on Sept 18 with the participation of business leaders and representatives of 150 aviation companies such as Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer.
Airlines, aircraft manufacturers, lessors, banks, export credit agencies, regulators and law firms are meeting with airport operators and investors, and infrastructure developers to explore financing solutions for transactions related to aircraft acquisition, leasing and infrastructure development.
The event is a follow-up to the CAPA Iran Aviation Summit on January 24-25 which was held after the lifting of sanctions, becoming the first major international airline summit to be held in the country in almost 40 years