Ethiopian to inaugurate 295mln birr cargo terminal, maintenance hangar

By Mikias Makonnen

As it seeks to make Addis Ababa and its ultra modern airport terminal an international hub, Ethiopian Airlines has invested a total of 240 million birr for the construction of a state-of-the-art cargo terminal 1.5km west of the existing Bole Airport passenger terminal.

The airplane taxiway for the terminal will be 235 meters long, connecting the existing north-south taxiway to the cargo apron, whereas the 44,390sqm area of cargo apron can accommodate four cargo planes. Occupying an area of 14,000sqm, the terminal will accommodate 250,000 tonnes of air cargo per year. The cargo terminal will serve as an international hub for perishables such as flowers, fruits, vegetables, meat, and medicine and will handle cargo in accordance with international standards.

As safety has become a regular priority issue, x-ray machines, sniffers, walkthrough, hand baggage scanners and Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) will also be made available.

Being the most modern of such facilities in Africa, the new cargo terminal, which will be inaugurated on May 5, 2006, will help increase Ethiopian’s share in the largely untapped and expanding freight market in Africa and elsewhere around the world.

In another development, Ethiopian Airlines is expanding its maintenance capability by constructing a state-of-the-art maintenance hangar, investing a total project cost USD 6.4 million (close to 55 million birr). The new hangar will also be inaugurated on May 5 and will serve the growing fleet of Ethiopian and customers’ aircraft.