eBusiness Weekly
Martin Kadzere
Air Zimbabwe is considering bids submitted by three investors interested in buying shares in the struggling State-owned airline, a senior official said this week.
Initially, 10 international investors had expressed willingness to acquire shareholding in the loss making national flag carrier, but only three officially submitted the bids.
Air Zimbabwe, which was in October last year placed under the administration to try and revive its fortunes, is looking to enlist an investor in the next few weeks, assistant administrator Tonderai Mukubvu told Business Weekly in an interview on Wednesday.
Mukubvu could not, however, be drawn to disclose the three potential suitors.
The troubled airline, which owes foreign and domestic creditors about $380 million, is among state-owned entities that the Government listed for privatisation.
“We officially received three bids out of 10 (investors) that had shown interest and we are doing the adjudication to check if the bids meet the tender requirements,” said Mukubvu.
“We are hoping that by end of October, we would have finished the process.”
The Government, however, reserves the right to accept or reject the enlisted investor.
Zimbabwe is operating with a single plane, mainly servicing Harare-Bulawayo and Victoria Falls route as well as Harare-Johannesburg and
Harare-Dar es Salaam routes.
Last month, Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Joel Matiza, said the Malaysian firm has cleared the release of two aircrafts acquired by Air Zimbabwe.
But no delivery has been made as yet. No comment could be obtained from Minister Matiza.
The two Boeing 777-200 ER are part of the four the national airline intends to buy.
Last year, Government, entered into an agreement to acquire aeroplanes from Malaysia for US$70 million but has so far paid for two.
Air Zimbabwe is also finalising a few regulatory issues to start flying the Embraer ERJ145 purchased from the US.
The plane was delivered in April this year and Air Zim is working on regulatory compliance issues.
The 50-seater jet has to go through the local registration process as well as all mandatory checks, tests and certification before it enters into service within, Air Zimbabwe said.
The aircraft is expected to mostly service the local and regional routes.
Improved air connectivity is critical at a time Zimbabwe is on the drive of attracting foreign direct investment as well as enhancing tourist arrivals. Other regional airlines have taken advantage of improved tourist arrivals, particularly in Victoria Falls following the expansion of Victoria Falls International Airport to increase frequency.
Air Zimbabwe was founded in 1967 and its roots can be traced back to 1946 when it was known as Central Africa Airways and operated as a joint airline for Nyasaland, Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia.
The tripartite operations continued till 1967 when the joint operations ceased leading to the formation of Air Rhodesia.
It operated as Air Rhodesia until 1980 when the nation attained independence and adopted the name Air Zimbabwe.
It operated as Air Zimbabwe Corp until 1997 when Air Zimbabwe Pvt Ltd was created in terms of the Air Zimbabwe Corporation Repeal Act of 1998.
In 1980, Air Zimbabwe had 18 aircraft and was a major regional and international aviation player. The airline has been in a downward
spiral since 2003 with passenger numbers significantly falling from one million in 1999 to less than 20 000 in 2016.
