Kathmandu, April 20
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) - the national flag carrier - has been able to pay the instalment of Rs 2.94 billion of the loan taken for the purchase of international aircraft, including two widebody and narrow-body aircraft, within a year.
According to Ramesh Poudel, spokesperson for NAC, the corporation was able to pay the loan instalment on time to the Citizen Investment Trust (CIT) and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) following the improvement in business with the new leadership.
According to the corporation, of the Rs 2.94 billion, Rs 1.35 billion was paid in mid-June, followed by Rs 739 million in mid-October, Rs 339 million in mid-December and Rs 539 million in March.
The corporation faced difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in stagnant business that impacted its income. As a result, the corporation had been unable to pay the instalments and interest on the loans taken for the purchase of aircraft.
The earlier instalment was paid in December 2019.
However, with the recent global relaxation of travel rules related to COVID-19, there has been an increase in international flights, improved seat occupancy rates, and a normalisation and regularity of flights. This has enabled NAC to make instalment payments.
According to Poudel, due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business, the corporation has requested the EPF and CIT to extend the repayment period by increasing the number of instalments and is seeking exemption of penalty for the period it had missed payments.
NAC had taken a loan of Rs 10 billion from EPF for the purchase of two Airbus A320, and Rs 12 billion each from EPF and CIT for the purchase of two wide-body A330.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
