They said Chinese aircraft manufacturers must obtain type approval certification from CAAN - the aviation sector regulator - before selling their products to domestic airlines.[break]
“The signing of airworthiness agreement only paves the way for manufacturers to apply for type certification,” said Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, deputy director general of CAAN.
CAAN had recently signed airworthiness agreement with CAAC in Beijing.
Type certification is awarded by the regulator to manufacturers after airworthiness requirements for safe conduct of flights under all normally conceivable condition are met.
Suman said CAAN would award type certificate to the Chinese company, which has signed commercial agreement with Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to supply six aircraft to the national flag carrier, as per the conditions set under the Nepalese Civil Airworthiness Requirement (NCAR).
As per the conditions set by NCAR, manufacturer should have airworthiness certificate issued either by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US or the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) of the European Union.
"The Chinese party is aware of this condition,” said Suman.
As per the agreement, the Chinese authority will be responsible for continued airworthiness of Chinese aircraft that will operate in Nepal.
According to CAAN officials, issuance of type certificate will be followed by soft loan agreement between the finance ministry and EXIM Bank of China, and government to government agreement between Nepal and China.
Of the six aircraft being purchased by the government, China has pledged to provide one 58-seater MA-60 and 19-seater Harbin Y-12 under grant.
The northern neighbor has promised to arrange soft loan from Exim Bank for the purchase of remaining four aircraft.
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) had signed commercial agreement with Chinese aircraft manufacturer Avic International a month ago.
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