Ariana Afghan Airlines Attract Investment
On August 15, Former President of Ariana Afghan Airlines Dr. Mohammed Nadir Atash announced two major investment proposals by US and European companies. Ariana, Afghanistan’s national carrier, has provided air passenger and cargo service to Afghanistan for over five decades and has expanded its operations and service since the fall of the Taliban. The special presentation included officials from the companies seeking to invest in Afghanistan, as well as US government, industry, and media representatives. Dr. Atash stated, “These investments will create further improvements to air service for Afghanistan, including domestic, international and cargo services. I am pleased to have made this opportunity possible, which assures a very positive and bright future for Ariana.” One proposal includes a major capital commitment in the amount of $400-700 million USD, marking one of the largest scale wholly private financed foreign direct investments in Afghanistan. The investment proposal entails new mechanisms to finance and implement the full upgrade of Ariana. The other proposal is from a US company establishing much-needed direct air cargo service between the U.S. and Afghanistan.
