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  • US EXIM bank to provide $55m for engine overhaul to PIA

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    • Published in Business
    The $55m deal will pay for the refurbishment of PIA's ageing Boeing 777 fleet by US conglomerate GE. The $55m deal will pay for the refurbishment of PIA's ageing Boeing 777 fleet by US conglomerate GE.

    United States Export-Import (Exim) Bank has agreed to provide $55 million funding to Pakistan for the refurbishment of Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) Boeing aircraft engines by American company General Electric (GE).

    The $55 million deal ─ Exim's largest financing activity in Pakistan since 2006 ─ will pay for the refurbishment of PIA's ageing Boeing 777 fleet by US conglomerate GE.

    The deal is expected to enhance overall engine performance of the domestic carrier's Boeing aircraft.

    The signing ceremony on Wednesday between GE and PIA was witnessed by US Ambassador Richard Olson, Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Chairman of the Board of Investment Dr. Miftah Ismail, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Captain Shujaat Azim, and Vice-Chairman GE John G. Rice, among others.

    Ambassador Olson said, “Today, GE and its joint venture engines power more than 60 per cent of PIA’s aircraft, and this deal to refurbish many of those engines will power PIA well into the future," adding that such a partnership could go a long way towards connecting Pakistan with the rest of the world.

    Richard Olson yesterday accompanied United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) Daniel Feldman in a meeting with Adviser to the Prime Minister on national security and foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz.

    The meeting, which was held following a series of US drone strikes in North Waziristan, was held to discuss Pakistan-US bilateral relations.