In the midst of rising food prices, construction costs and other financial challenges facing the country, efforts by the State-owned Caribbean Airlines Ltd to acquire a private jet for a long range executive service have been brought to a halt for the moment, Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Mariano Browne, said yesterday.

"We haven't brought it back on the front burner and there are a lot of other things going on as we speak," Browne told the Express yesterday.

CAL had sought and received Government's approval for US$54 million in State funds towards its initial and failed attempt to purchase a Global XRS private jet from the Bombardier group.

The jet had an actual purchase price of US$63 million and the airline's chairman, Arthur Lok Jack, said the US$54 million would be returned to the State.

Both Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Lok Jack said the private jet proposal was the airline's idea.

The Opposition and many taxpayers, however, described it as a bad idea and a potential misappropriation of State funds, at a time when many citizens faced a rising cost of living.

In revealing CAL's private jet acquisition had been postponed yesterday, however, Browne said this did not mean that CAL will never have a private jet in its fleet.

"I would say it's postponed, not indefinitely. It's been postponed," he said.

CAL seemed set to sign the private jet purchase agreement with Bombardier in March, but the deal suddenly crash landed and the Government said it was because the aircraft manufacturer had refused to sign an anti-corruption clause.

When the deal fell through, CAL said it would look at other options for the acquisition of a private jet and a Government source had said these would most likely involve lease arrangements as opposed to a purchase agreement.