Nigeria to consider China's C919 for new airline

Nigeria will consider buying China's newly certified C919 passenger jet as the country's new airline Nigeria Air grows to 30 aircraft by 2025, Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said on Saturday.

Sirika said the new airline would have a mix of Airbus and Boeing (NYSE:BA) aircraft, but added that the carrier was also willing to look at the Chinese narrow-body jet that Chinese regulators approved on Friday. "We haven't looked at the C919 yet. But if it's as good as the others, why not," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the triennial meeting of the United Nations aviation agency in Montreal, Canada. China on Friday hailed the development of its first medium-haul passenger jet as the embodiment of the country's drive for self-sufficiency, with safety approval given to a plane aimed at challenging Western aircraft giants for orders. The state Xinhua News Agency said the first C919 aircraft, designed to compete with popular single-aisle models made by Airbus and Boeing, would be delivered by the end of the year. While it remains unclear when the plane will be certified by the United States or Europe, paving the way for its sale in most foreign markets, industry analysts say it will take up to a decade for China to seriously challenge the current Boeing-Airbus duopoly. "China and Nigeria have a very cordial and friendly relationship that is mutually beneficial," Sirika said. For decades, China has lent billions of dollars to Africa to build railways, power plants and highways, extracting minerals and oil as it deepens ties with the continent. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is the largest importer of Chinese goods, worth $23 billion in 2021. For decades, Nigeria's weak transportation and energy networks have hampered economic growth and hindered the distribution of wealth in Africa's largest economy, where 40% of people live below the national poverty line. But Sirika said the country has grown its aviation sector and traffic is now above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. The airline was one of President Muhammadu Buhari's 2015 election campaign promises. Follow Global Economic Developments on Social Media! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Facebook account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Instagram account! Click here to follow Ieconomy official Twitter account!