An early loan repayment of $20 million was made today by Fiji Airways to the Fiji National Provident Fund.
This is a soft repayment of the original agreed loan facility of $181.2M which was given in 2013 for the purchase of the new A330s.
Fiji Airways Acting CEO, David Bowden says after this repayment the loan balance is now below fifty percent.
He says it also shows the good financial due diligence and the good financial decision making that is being made for the sustainability of Fiji Airways.
Meanwhile FNPF Chairman, Ajith Kodagoda says when this transaction took place in 2013 there was so much negativity attached to it.
Attorney General and Minister for Finance, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has welcomed the loan repayment and thanked the FNPF board for having the vision to venture into an area where people were very critical.
He says people who were critical of this deal did not have the facts and figures and politicised the entire issue.