The African Development Bank will take the lead in helping to raise $7.8 billion for a new airport in Ethiopia, the bank said.
When completed in 2029, the airport will be the continent’s largest and will have the capacity to handle 100 million passengers a year.
“The appointment of the African Development Bank as lead arranger reflects its catalytic role in advancing strategic infrastructure across the continent and its proven leadership in structuring complex transactions,” the bank said in a statement late on Thursday.
State-owned Ethiopian Airlines signed an agreement for the design of the four-runway airport near the town of Bishoftu, around 45 km (28 miles) southeast of the capital Addis Ababa.
While presenting Ethiopian Airlines’ financial results on Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Mesfin Tasew said the airport’s total cost would be $10 billion, with the airline providing 20% of the funding and the rest from creditors.
Last year, he had said Bole Addis Ababa International Airport, the current main hub for Africa’s biggest airline, would soon reach its capacity of serving 25 million passengers per year.
A formal signing ceremony will take place in Addis Ababa on Monday with the bank’s head and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the bank said.
Reporting by George Obulutsa; Additional reporting by Dawit Endeshaw in Addis Ababa; editing by Barbara Lewis
Credit: Reuters
