Bhopal | A new state aircraft of the Madhya Pradesh government will now be bought at a reduced price of Rs 183 crore. The state government has got a reduced price from US-based aircraft manufacturer Textran Aviation Limited after negotiation. The proposal for the purchase of the aircraft will be placed in the cabinet on Tuesday and after getting the consent, the purchase order will be issued to the company. There is a possibility of this new state aircraft reaching Bhopal by the month of July.
Textran Company has been found technically and financially suitable. In the rate given by the company, the total cost of the jet aircraft was coming to Rs 208 crore including various taxes. Therefore, to reduce the cost of the aircraft, a negotiation committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Finance Ajit Kesari, the committee negotiated with the company and reduced the cost of the aircraft to about Rs 25 crore, including additional cost.
The Aviation Department has kept Rs 120 crore for the purchase of this aircraft in its current budget and has asked for Rs 150 crore in the next year's budget.
The state government had floated the first tender eight months ago to buy a new state aircraft. Since then, continuous efforts were made to buy aircrafts. America's aircraft manufacturer Textran Aviation Limited was the only one fitting the terms of the tender. That's why the state government negotiated with this company and now the company will also provide training to pilots of Madhya Pradesh government.
