February 16, 2006
Minsk to auction next month
SHENZHEN will be auctioning the Minsk aircraft carrier next month. Because its owner, Minsk World Industries Co Ltd, went bankrupt a year ago, a Shenzhen based newspaper reported today.
The aircrafts carrier, which is also a theme park, attracted many tourists since it opened to the public in September 2000.
Burdened with paying the interest on both a huge bank loan and mortgage, the owner of the Minsk filed for bankruptcy.
The auditing report said the company had liabilities totaling 867 million yuan (US$108 million) and total assets worth 675 million yuan. The Intermediate Court of Shenzhen appointed a liquidation team to take over the gigantic vessel last February.
The theme park is still in business and hosted 33,000 visitors during the Spring Festival.
Minsk, a decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier, was also the previous flagship of the Russian Pacific Ocean Fleet. It was sold to a South Korean businessman in 1995, and later resold to Shenzhen Minsk World.
