Companies

Chinese company to help create new airline for Venezuela

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-24 17:38

CARACAS - A Chinese company signed an agreement with two Venezuelan companies for the creation of a new airline, which will operate in domestic routes in Venezuela with competitive prices.

The agreement was signed by China's AVIC International and Venezuela's Fundagrial and Sireca.

AVIC will pay $300 million for the creation of the new company.

It was a great event in the cooperation on aviation between the two countries and would have a positive impact on the development of the Venezuelan air service, said Zhang Guangjian, deputy general manager of AVIC International.

Fundagrial President Manuel Garcia said the new project was aimed to better connect the Venezuelan agriculture-livestock producers with the capital and other parts of the country.

Garcia said the airline was expected to start operation by year-end and would focus its service on routes linking central and western parts of the country.

China is Venezuela's second largest trading partner, while Venezuela is China's fifth largest trading partner in Latin America. According to Chinese statistics, trade between the two countries in 2009 was $7.15 billion.

Earlier this month, China and Venezuela signed a series of agreements to help the latter develop its oil and hydropower industries.