President Václav Klaus was in Nigeria's capital of Abuja recently, accompanied by businessmen and Deputy Defense Minister Martin Barták, to discuss the deal with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The contract would be worth billions of crowns, although parties involved aren't giving exact figures yet. Barták said the exact number of aircraft is also still undecided. "It will definitely be more than 10," he told the daily Hospodářské noviny Dec. 11.

In the coming days, Nigeria, which is shaking off a tradition of dictatorship, expects Czechs to announce the exact conditions of the offer. The final deal could be closed this spring.

The Czech Army decided to sell 47 of its light L-159 jets in the summer of 2004. The Nigerian Air Force plans to use the L-159s to replace its old Alpha Jet planes.

The Czech Defense Ministry bought the L-159s from Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody (AV) for 40 billion Kč ($1.9 billion) and is to be the guarantor in this transaction, while AV acts as the key business partner.

Other partners include Škodaexport and Pamco.

According to Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Martin Tlapa, several other countries have also expressed an interest in the planes.

Tlapa said the L-159 could become "one of the most successful Czech export products."

The jet deal has been in the making since February, when former Foreign Affairs Minister Cyril Svoboda visited Nigeria.

AV, formerly a state-owned company, was bought up by investment firm Penta for 2.9 billion Kč in October in one of the biggest Czech privatizations to date.

The company sold 72 L-159s to the Army in 2003, but the military decided just a year later to use only 24 of them, with the intent to phase in 14 supersonic fighter jets.

The other 47 planes have been for sale for over two years, sitting unused in AV warehouses awaiting a suitable buyer.

AV President Petr Klimeš told Lidové noviny in a recent interview that Indonesia has also expressed an interest in the L-159s.