The deadline for bids in the privatisation of Tanzania's flag carrier, which were due at the end of July, has been delayed until early September.

Tanzania is selling up to 75% of its stake in Air Tanzania Corporation (ATC), with South African Airways and Kenyan Airways considered as the leading bidders.

"It has been moved forward to September, mainly for preparation of documents," a spokesman for Tanzania's Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) told BBC News Online.

The spokesman said the delay was due to "a lot of questions from bidders on the process".

South African Airways confirmed it had recieved a letter from the Tanzanian government extending the deadline to "some time in September".

The announcement had already been delayed by one month from the end of June to allow parliament pass legislation in preparation for the sale.

In February, deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rita Mlaki, accused the PSRC of incompetence.

It has also been criticised for ignoring the views of workers at the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) and the Tanzania Railways Corporation which are also facing privatisation.

Queue of bidders

Eight firms featured on the initial list of bidders including South African Airways , Comair and Nationwide of South Africa, Gulf Air of United Arab Emirates, Aero Asia International of Pakistan, Air Consult International of Ireland, Kenya Airways and Precision Air of Tanzania.

Established in 1977, ATC owns one plane, a Boeing 737-200, and leases two others, a Boeing 737-300 and a Donnier.

Based in Dar-es-Salaam, ATC flies to the East African capitals of Nairobi, Entebbe, and Kigali and has passenger rights to the Central and Southern African capitals of Lusaka, Harare, Lilongwe, Maputo and Johannesburg, amongst others.

The government announced its plan to sell of ATC in February.