Economy

Indonesia's Merpati to purchase 15 planes from China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-01 13:12

JAKARTA - Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar has said he expects the purchase of 15 new aircraft from China for state-run Merpati Nusantara airline is to be settled by the end of the year, local media reported Tuesday.

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"Hopefully, we can bring in all of the planes by end of this year," Mustafa was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.

He said that the government had so far imported two of the 15 planes.

Airliners in Indonesia has attempted to expand business, which has high potential. The government has put a priority to develop the aviation industry, as it will be the most effective transport means in the archipelago country with over 17,500 islands and homed by over 238 million people.

So far, less than 4 percent of the population travel by plane, according to the Transport Ministry.