Gaborone - Botswana put its national airline up for tender on Monday as part of its latest drive to privatise loss-making state companies.Air Botswana would be the second such sale after the government sold 49 percent of its telecoms firm in a stock-market floatation last year.
The transport department said in a notice inviting expressions of interest that it was open to proposals on various forms of privatisation, including joint ventures, ownership, franchising and concessions.
In addition to four domestic routes, Air Botswana provides cargo and air passenger services to Cape Town and Johannesburg from Gaborone, Francistown and the tourism hubs of Maun and Kasane.
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Financial losses, blamed on a large workforce and an ageing fleet, have prompted a five-year turnaround plan that includes cutting costs and cancelling unprofitable routes.
The airline, which discontinued routes to Harare and Lusaka, halved its operating losses to 83 million pula (R105 million) in the 2016 fiscal year. Previous offers from Comair, South Africa’s Airlink and Air Mauritius have fallen through.