Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal asserted on Sunday that the contracting measures for the purchase of eight new Boeing aircraft are going on as the initial signing of the contract with BOC Aviation was completed and the final agreement expected to be clinched within the coming few days.

In statements on Sunday, Kamal said the government is attaching special importance to upgrading the fleet of the national airline, noting that this contract is the first of its kind as part of an overhaul plan to modernize EgyptAir fleet till 2025.

EgyptAir has 20 planes of the same class, the most recent of which entered service in 2012.

The eight new planes will replace the same number of Airbus A320-200, he explained.