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A US Ex-Im Bank US$47.6mn long-term loan guarantee will support the sale by Lockheed Martin of an air traffic control navigation system and related goods and services to upgrade Albania’s air navigation system.


The Lockheed system, to be used by Albania’s National Air Traffic Agency (NATA), will quickly triple the capacity for air flights over Albania and provide for continuing capacity increases as needed. It also will help decrease flight times and fuel costs for airlines flying between northwestern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, and provide Albania with self-sustaining over-flight revenues.


This project was made possible by a feasibility study grant provided by Ex-Im Bank’s sister agency, the US Trade and Development Agency, which showed the economic viability of the project and demonstrated the competitiveness of the modernised Albanian air traffic control system.


The guaranteed lender on the transaction is BNP-Paribas, New York. The borrower is NATA. The guarantee is denominated in euros ( €
36.6mn). The primary source of repayment will be the euro-denominated revenues from flights over Albanian airspace.