Part of Air India's $8.5 billion debt may be transferred to a special purpose vehicle before selling its shares. According to MoS civil aviation Jayant Sinha, the government had already decided to split the debt into sustainable and unsustainable debts. "The unsustainable part will be with the special purpose vehicle (SPV)," he said on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai. It is learnt that the government had proposed transferring non-aviation assets and up to Rs 300 billion in short-term loans into a separate company. Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Choubey had said on Thursday that the government would invite initial bids for Air India in the next couple of weeks. Companies, including low-cost Indian carrier IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, Tata Group and Turkey's Celebi Aviation Holdings, have expressed an interest in buying some of Air India's operations. In January, a proposal was cleared to allow foreign investors to own up to a 49% stake in Air India, paving the way for global airlines to also bid for the carrier.