The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) says the two 60-capacity airplanes government has bought from China will help to cut costs for presidential foreign trips.

In an interview yesterday on the sidelines of the handover at Chileka International Airport in Blantyre, MDF Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Paul Valentino Phiri said, among others, the Modern Ark (MA) 600 will be used as transport aircraft.

He said sometimes President Lazarus Chakwera, who is also MDF Commander in Chief, charters airplanes from foreign firms which drains public resources.

“The planes have the capacity to fly 2 400 kilometres,” said Phiri.

In a separate interview, Ministry of Defence Principal Secretary Erica Maganga, who was the guest of honour at the handover, said the acquisition of the two airplanes confirms government’s commitment to modernise the Malawi Air Force.

She said the procurement process of the two airplanes started in 2019 and government contracted China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (Catic), a Chinese State-owned defence company which assembled the planes to supply to MDF.

Said Maganga: “Going forward as government, we will look at other needs, having filled the gap of aeroplanes.

“The Very Very Important Persons [VVIP] could use these planes, but also as you are aware that we have troops in various countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, which means it will ease pressure to transport them.”

She, however, declined to disclose the value of the two airplanes but according to https://aerocorner.com, in 2018 Modern Ark 600 was valued at around $20 million (about K21.4 billion).

But according to 2018/19 and 2019/20 National Budget documents, there was no allocation for the two planes.

During the handover ceremony, Catic director of sales Thu Hai said his company will provide spare parts for the two airplanes.

In 2013, government through the Office of the President and Cabinet advertised and sold the country’s only presidential jet, a move that received criticism from various quarters of society. The sale led to the formation of a Commission of Inquiry to establish how the jet was sold.

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