China to deliver passenger jet to Cameroon

XI'AN -- A Chinese aircraft manufacturer has signed a deal to deliver a turboprop passenger jet to Cameroon, the sixth African country to use the China-made aircraft, the company said Monday.

The agreement to deliver a Modern Ark (MA)-60 aircraft was signed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industry Company, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the Air Forces of Cameroon in the Northwest China city of Xi'an, where the manufacturer is based.

The MA-60 aircraft was offered to Cameroon on grant, and two more such aircraft were being considered to be bought on loans, the economic and commerce office of the Chinese Embassy to Cameroon had previously reported. Yaounde has also agreed to open flight routes to China, it added.

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The MA-60 is the only China-made civil aircraft being operated in China and around the world. It entered the African market in 2005 when Zimbabwe's national carrier bought the aircraft. To date, more than 70 MA-60s have been delivered to clients in about a dozen countries, including six in Africa, to be operated on more than 200 routes, the company said.