Uganda Airlines’ plan to take to the skies by April 2019 has run into another hurdle after the Export Development Canada (EDC), which had committed to funding the acquisition of its debut Bombardier fleet, pulled out of the deal citing “commercial reasons.”
The Ugandan national carrier had in July announced a partnership agreement with Bombardier for the purchase of four CRJ-900s which were to be delivered from January 2019, to prop-up its regional operations.
The EDC, which had committed to extend $108 million to Uganda for the purchase of the aircraft, pulled out of the deal a fortnight ago.
“Uganda’s Treasury officials have already received the EDC communication over their new position. This was done through the Canadian diplomatic channels,” a source told The EastAfrican.
Another source with knowledge of the matter said that the credit agency said it was undergoing restructuring and asked for a two-week extension to deliver the term sheet to Uganda Airlines. A term sheet spells out the terms and conditions as well as the schedule for repayment of a loan. EDC was expected to deliver the term sheet on September 21.
But Shelley Maclean, the principal advisor for external communications at the Canadian Export-Import bank, told The EastAfrican that the lender had not committed any finances for this transaction.
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