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Bolivia Buys 2 Luxury Aircraft for $80 Million

Posted: admin on Apr 14 | Politics, Transportation

The Bolivian government is spending $80 million dollars on two luxury aircraft for personal use of President Evo Morales. The purchase of a French Falcon Dassault for $38.7 million dollars was authorized directly by Supreme Decree 466 and its purchase will be finalized by April 28th by a Bolivian diplomatic delegation in Moscow. The other aircraft is a Russian Antonov BJ with a capacity for 12 people plus crew and pilot. “This Antonov plane is necessary on a Presidential level, it’s a plane that has an initial capacity to transport passengers and this will  be its use,” said former Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra. At a celebration on April 12th Saavedra affirmed that the Antonov will cost nothing less than $40 million.

The current presidential airplane is a Sabreliner that was acquired in 1975 and has experienced numerous technical problems with the President on board. The government had wanted to replace the Sabreliner last year but delayed the purchase in order to finance biometric voting machines for Bolivia’s elections of 2009 according to Saavedra.  Bolivia has decided to buy these two planes on the open market rather than order custom-designed aircraft which could delay arrival by 30 months.

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