Air Jamaica Sale Set for June

Jamaica minister Don Wehby says in a statement that the sale of Air Jamaica is expected to be completed by the end of June. He adds that while the projected March 31 timeline for the privatization will not be met, “significant progress has been made in the privatization effort.” The senator says he will have a meeting in mid-April with an international airline group from which the privatization committee has already received an indicative offer for Air Jamaica. The IFC has been in charge of identifying the prospective investors through the pre-qualification process. It has been advising the government regarding its privatization program since March. The senator also explains that the privatization effort seeks to ease the burden on the national budget of the more than $150m per year that the airline loses. Air Jamaica has loans outstanding of over $600m, he says. Wehby is minister without portfolio in the finance ministry.