The Ethiopian Airlines Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have signed a letter appointing the bank as initial mandated lead arranger (IMLA) for the financing of Ethiopian Airlines’ new airport.
Under this mandate letter, AfDB will provide a loan of $500 million and lead the mobilisation of the remaining amount, for financing the development of the new airport in Ethiopia.
This follows an announcement made last week that the bank is set to lead efforts to raise $7.8bn for a new airport in Ethiopia, which when completed in 2029, will be the continent's largest with the capacity to handle 100 million passengers annually.
Located in Abusera, 40 kilometres south of Addis Ababa, the airport will have an initial passenger capacity of 60 million annually, expanding to 110 million in later phases. By comparison, Africa’s busiest airports currently handle between 18 million and 29 million passengers a year.
“We are pleased to partner with the African Development Bank in arranging the required financing for the development of this iconic aviation infrastructure,” said Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew.
The airline group is advancing its ambitious 2040 growth strategy, which emphasises network expansion, infrastructure development, and human capital investment to enhance its global competitiveness.
In the last fiscal year, ending on June 30, 2025, the airline reported record revenues of $7.6bn reflecting a growth rate of 8% on the prior year. It transported 19 million passengers, with 15.1 million on international routes and 3.9 million domestically.