Zimbabwe government buys Boeing planes, leases them to new airline

A new Zimbabwe Airways Boeing 777-200 lands in Harare, Zimbabwe, on April 11, 2018. PHOTO | REUTERS

Zimbabwe has bought two Boeing 777 aircraft and an Embraer plane from Malaysia, the finance minister said on Wednesday, adding the planes would be leased to a new local airline until national carrier Air Zimbabwe returned to profitability.

Patrick Chinamasa said Harare had agreed with an unidentified Malaysian firm to buy four Boeing 777 planes for $70 million but had so far paid for two.