The newly acquired Airbus A320, purchased by the government, landed at the "Manas" International Airport yesterday. The head of the information policy service of the Kyrgyz President's administration, Dairbek Orunbekov, shared the news on his Facebook page.
The aircraft was personally greeted by the Prime Minister, Akylbek Japarov, who highlighted Kyrgyzstan's path towards development. He emphasized that the country is investing in special and military equipment, advanced medical devices, and public transportation using the republican budget.
Just a month ago, the Prime Minister had a different opinion on purchasing an aircraft. He mentioned during a city council meeting that instead of acquiring a presidential plane, budget funds were allocated to buy new buses for Bishkek.
"We need to have self-respect. We had accumulated around $100 million. But the President directed it to Bishkek for purchasing thousands of buses to solve the city's transportation issues," stated Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov.
According to the Ministry of Finance, $86.5 million from the country's budget has been earmarked for bus procurement. Additionally, a portion of the municipal passenger fleet was acquired using funds from the EBRD and the Japanese government.
