Gulf Aviation Academy (GAA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, recently signed a $13.3 million five-year operating lease agreement with Tadhamon Capital for its new A330 full flight simulator.

The agreement is part of the Tadhamon Aviation Equipment Fund that was recently launched by Tadhamon Capital and is the company’s first Shari’ah compliant aviation fund established in Bahrain.  The fund has purchased an A330 full flight simulator and secured a five year operating lease agreement with GAA.

Mahmood Al Balooshi, chief executive officer of GAA said: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Tadhamon Capital in such a key financial structure which the GAA is looking forward to improve in the future to assess the growth plans of the Academy."

“With the arrival of the new A330 FFS, the capacity of GAA’s full flight simulators will increase to five, which will enhance the Academy’s pilot training operations.

“GAA aims to provide top quality, end-to-end aviation training solutions to commercial airlines in the Middle East and North Africa region, and will continue to make investments that meet the growing regional demand for pilot training as well as create job opportunities and financial growth in Bahrain,” he added.

Waleed Abdulla Rashdan, CEO of Tadhamon Capital said: “The deal we have concluded is emblematic of the huge stride Tadhamon Capital has taken over the past few months and it marks the successful conclusion of the first Shari’ah Compliant Aviation fund established in Bahrain.”

“Today, we are delighted to be working closely with Gulf Aviation Academy in a step towards achieving both parties’ visions. Moreover, programs such as these will also increase demand for skilled Bahraini manpower in this particular sector and play a significant role in boosting the country’s economic growth under these challenging market conditions."

Rashdan added: “This transaction is a testimony of the Company’s confident approach in supporting successful business initiatives in Bahrain. We are content with offering our prominent shareholders and investors with innovative Shari’ah compliant instruments that are expected to generate attractive returns for all parties involved.”

“Tadhamon Aviation Equipment Fund would set the milestone for more funds of similar nature focused on the aviation sector and the infrastructure for Bahrain and the Mena region,” he concluded.

The CAE A330 FFS will be delivered in mid-2012 to GAA’s Simulator Centre, which currently includes two CAE 5000 Series A320 FFS, an A330/A340 FFS and an Embraer 170/190 FFS.

The new A330 Simulator will incorporate a CAE TroposTM-6000 visual system and is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of August 2012. – TradeArabia News Service