Germany to grant bln-euro loan for A350 development

(BERLIN) - The German government is ready to grant a 1.1 billion euro loan to develop the Airbus A350 long-haul passenger aircraft, a senior economics ministry official said Sunday.

"As far as we are concerned all pre-conditions have been met and the funds are available," said Peter Hintze, parliamentary state secretary at the ministry of economics.

His statement implied that the conditions were in line with World Trade Organisation rules.

Hintze said that "final issues" would have to be solved, notably how to divide up work between France and Germany on another project, the A30X, a potential successor to the A320.

"We want to be sure that (A30X) research and development will be done in Germany," he said.

The A30X's completion is widely expected to take place in Hamburg, northern Germany.

"We want an agreement quickly," he said. "We want to wind up the negotiations in spring."

Airbus, a division of the European aerospace giant EADS, intends to launch the A350 as a rival to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

The Airbus A350 XWB (extra-wide body) is described by the company as an eco-friendly passenger aircraft that can seat between 270 and 350 passengers.

Able to run on less fuel than current planes, its development is supported by four partner nations -- Britain, France, Germany and Spain.

France has announced support of 1.4 billion euros for the 12-billion-euro programme and Britain around 400 million.

The Spanish government remains in discussions with Airbus over its funding offer but reports say it could be around 300 million euros.