Two companies have pre-qualified to bid for the assets of the bankrupt state airline, Dominicana de Aviacion (CDA). They are Aserca Airlines (Venezuela) and the Friedman Turbidy Associates consortium. The minimum price fixed by the State Enterprises Reform Commission (CREP) is US$11.5 million. Plagued by operational problems, and restricted from landing at most destination cities due to unpaid bills and safety infractions, the CDA ceased operations in 1995. According to Eduardo Selman, head of CORDE, the public holding company for state-owned businesses, its current chief assets are its routes and its four-story office building on Winston Churchill Avenue in the capital. The company that submits the winning bid will manage the CDA as a 50-50 partner with the government. It will also assume some US$4 million of the carrier’s accumulated debts, estimated by Selman as between US$12 and US$13 million. (18 May 2000)
