Air Arabia Airbus order might not be enough
Low-cost carrier Air Arabia has ordered 44 Airbus planes over the next five years but its expansion plans mean it could need more, a senior company executive said.
The largest Arab airline by market value operates out of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, but opened a new hub in Morocco last year. It is launching a new budget carrier with an Egyptian partner and setting up a third hub in Alexandria.
At least in the next couple of years we see our demand for airplanes outstripping the schedule, Rohit Ramachandran, chief operating officer of Air Arabia s Moroccan unit, told Reuters.
We might even have to go outside. But we are in a good position right now because good airplanes are available cheap.
He said Air Arabia Maroc, which flies from Casablanca to mostly European destinations, hoped to begin services to West Africa this year if regulatory hurdles are overcome. – Reuters
Turkey, Israel on track to close drone deal
Turkey and Israel appear to be on track to finalize a long delayed multi-million-dollar deal for the delivery of 10 drone aircraft for the Turkish air force, a Turkish official said Friday.
The project, launched in 2005, was under threat of cancellation amid delays and rising tensions between the two countries over Israel s devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip last year.
Turkish experts are currently in Israel to test the drones, the defense ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Should the systems pass the tests, six aircraft will be brought to Turkey s southeastern province of Batman, on the border with Iraq, for further tests, the official added.
If there are no problems, we will take the drones. We expect the delivery to take place in the first six months of this year, he said. – AFP
Kuwait approves four-year development plan
Kuwait s parliament gave its initial approval on Thursday to a four-year $129-billion (?89-billion) economic development plan.
The plan, the first since 1986, includes such mega projects as parts of a new business hub called Silk City and estimated to cost $77 billion, a major container harbor and a 25-kilometre (16-mile) causeway.
It also includes a railway and metro system, new cities and additional spending on infrastructure, particularly in the health and education sectors.
The ultimate goal of the plan, which extends from the current fiscal year to 2013/2014, is to turn Kuwait into a regional trade and financial centre, said deputy premier for economic affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah.
The second and final vote is scheduled to take place after at least two weeks.
Sheikh Ahmad said the plan aims to boost the role of private business in the state-dominated economy in which the public sector controls almost three- quarters of the Gross Domestic Product.
The plan also stipulates increased spending in the oil sector, the country s lifeline, to raise crude oil production capacity and modernize oil facilities.
The Gulf state has been vying to diversify its economy, in which oil revenues contribute about 94 percent of total state income.
Political bickering that has rocked Kuwait over the past few years has delayed many development projects, however.
Kuwait has amassed huge foreign assets in the past decade on the back of high oil prices. These assets are estimated at about $230 billion and are mostly located abroad.
Kuwait, which says it holds 10 percent of global crude reserves, pumps about 2.2 million barrels per day. – AFP
Saudi Arabia seeking 500,000 T of wheat
Saudi Arabia is tendering for 500,000 tons of wheat with bids due later on Friday, a grains authority official said.
We will select winning bids within 48 hours so that will be Sunday, the official said.
European grain trade sources said the wheat would be for delivery in March, April, May and June, adding they believed the total tonnage could turn out to be as high as 550,000 tons.
Traders said Saudi Arabia was looking for eight cargoes of 55,000 tons each with 14 percent minimum protein content, including four for delivery in Jeddah and four in Dammam.
The tender also included two 55,000 ton cargoes with 12.5 percent minimum protein, one for Jeddah and one for Dammam.
Traders said the wheat was likely Canadian and/or from the Baltic region including Lithuania, adding German wheat, which meets protein requirement, seems too expensive. – Reuters
Turkish jobless rate at 13 percent: official data
Turkey s estimated jobless rate rose to 13.0 percent in the three months to the end of November, up nearly two percentage points from the level in the same period last year, official data showed Friday.
A survey based on interviews with about 93,000 people showed the number of jobless to have increased by 569,000 to 3.3 million people, the state statistics institution said.
Youth unemployment, meanwhile, rose to 24.0 percent from 21.8 percent a year ago, it said.
The global crisis has plunged Turkey s once-booming economy into recession, causing GDP to contract by 8.4 percent in the first nine months of 2009 and further compounding the country s chronic unemployment problem.
In September, the government announced that it expected the jobless rate to hit an average of 14.8 percent before falling to 13.3 percent in 2012.
Turkey s jobless rate is determined through household surveys across the country, which are then used to make a nationwide three-month projection.
The figures provide the only jobless data in Turkey, but experts say they fail to reflect the overall picture because of widespread undeclared or hidden unemployment, or the employment of educated, qualified people in jobs demanding few qualifications. – AFP
