A commuter plane donated to Zimbabwe by China following the purchase of two commuter aircraft last year is expected to arrive in the country early next year, an official said on Thursday.

Air Zimbabwe's spokesperson, David Mwenga, said the plane was still going through the production process.

He said before end of the year the national airline would dispatch a team of engineers to test and inspect the MA60 aircraft.

"We are expecting the aircraft early January and its acceptance will be done before the end of this year," he said.

Mwenga said the new plane was expected to service Hwange and the Transfrontier Parks among other routes in a bid to promote tourism in the country.

Zimbabwe purchased two MA60 commuter airplanes from China following an agreement that was signed between the two countries in December last year.

The planes were expected to feed into the Far East destination with Harare being the harbor.

They would also ply Lusaka, Lilongwe, Beira and Lubumbashi routes in the region, and the Kariba and Victoria Falls routes locally.

Early this year, Air Zimbabwe re-launched a direct flight to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Victoria Falls- Johannesburg flight.

It also introduced a new flight to Beijing, China via Singapore as part of its turnaround strategy to be completed by 2008.

Source: Xinhua