VietNamNet Bridge – A contract to buy 40 engines for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crew was signed between Vietnam Airlines and General Electric on the evening of October 28.

This is the biggest contract of GE in 20 years in Vietnam. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

In a statement released several hours after the event, Vietnam Airlines said that these are GEnx jet engines for its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, scheduled for delivery in 2015.

The value of the deal has not been announced but Vietnam Airlines said it is the largest contract in two decades of GE in Vietnam.

Some foreign news agencies reported in late September that the contract value is about $1 billion. According to some local sources, the total value of the contract is up to $1.7 billion.

The signing ceremony took place during the first visit to Vietnam of the US - ASEAN Business Council. Attending the signing ceremony were Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang, Vice Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear and Mr. Evan Greenberg - Chairman of the US- ASEAN Business Council.

Vietnam Airlines currently has 82 aircraft of various types, such as Boeing 777, Airbus A330, Airbus A321, and it plans to raise the total planes to 101 in 2015 and 150 in 2020.

In late September, Vietjet Air signed an agreement to purchase 92 aircraft and hire eight Airbus 320 with a total value to $9.1 billion.

Na Son