Minister says Sudan Airways to be privatised

KHARTOUM, July 21 (AFP) — Sudan is to privatise its ailing national carrier and invite foreign investors to buy shares in a new company, Finance Minister Al-Zubair Ahmed Hassan was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

The minister, quoted by local newspapers including the official Al Anbaa daily, said all 2,000 staff at Sudan Airways, which owns only two aircraft, would be laid off. They include 150 drivers, 800 administrative employees and 53 engineers.

The decision had been taken because of losses and debts of millions of dollars, the minister said.

He said that 30 percent of the shares of the new firm would be held by the government, 21 percent by Sudanese businessmen and 49 percent by foreign investors yet to come forward.