KfW IPEX-Bank and AFD are financing Ethiopian Airlines' New Cargo Terminal, one of the largest in the world

- Deliveries for Airport in Addis Ababa/Ethiopia
- Technical building equipment comes from Germany

KfW IPEX-Bank is financing the export of the technical interior
equipment of the new air cargo terminal at Addis Ababa international
airport with a loan amounting to EUR 32.8 million. Borrower and
investor is Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline and member
of the Star Alliance. General planning as well most important
technical components of the building, cooling and storage facilities
come from the exporter Unitechnik Systems from Germany.

KfW IPEX-Bank and the French Agency for Development (Agence Française
de Développement – AFD) are acting as both co-arrangers and lenders
of the financing. KfW IPEX-Bank financing will also benefit from a
twelve-year term and export credit insurance from the Federal
Republic of Germany (“Hermes cover”). AFD is providing in parallel a
loan amounting to a further EUR 50 million to finance the building
(incl. airside and landside apron work) constructed by local
construction firm Varnero.

“The conclusion of this export financing shows that German quality
and engineering know-how is globally demanded, specifically for
high-quality long-lasting technical equipment”, says Christian K.
Murach, member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank. “With our
financing we are not only contributing to the improvement of the
infrastructure of a prospering country but also to securing many
highly skilled jobs – be it on site in Addis Ababa or with the
exporter in Germany.”

Ethiopian Airlines’ new cargo terminal is among the largest projects
in the history of Unitechnik Systems based in Wiehl in the German
state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Already in 2006 the company played
an important role in the construction of the existing air cargo
terminal at Addis Ababa airport. Most recently Unitechnik supplied an
air cargo terminal in Durban/South Africa with cooling equipment. The
technology for this current project is adapted to the needs of the
client and combines relatively low complexity with a high grade of
usability. It is robust, easy to handle, to service and to control.

This air cargo terminal financed by KfW IPEX-Bank and AFD will be
erected in two phases reaching in its final stage of expansion an
annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of air cargo. That will make it
the largest air cargo terminal in Africa and one of the largest in
the world. It is integral part of Ethiopian Cargo Vision 2025 aiming
at supporting fast growing volumes of perishable exports of fruits,
flowers and meat mainly to destinations in Europe and the Middle
East. Ethiopian Cargo is the largest cargo operator in Africa with 24
freighter destinations using 8 dedicated cargo aircraft, mainly
wide-bodies such as the B777-200 LR freighter. By 2025 Ethiopian
Cargo is planning to serve 37 international destinations with a fleet
of 18 dedicated freighters.