Ethiopia will receive 120 million USD loan from Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China for the expansion project of Addis Ababa Bole International Airport passenger terminal.

Commenting on the development Wondim Teklu, Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE) Communications Affairs Office Head, said the EXIM Bank had approved additional 120 million USD loan and it is holding talks with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation (MFEC) after which the loan agreement will be signed.

The expansion project is already being undertaken at an outlay of 345 million USD after commencing work 14 months ago. The construction is being done by China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) while the French consulting firm, ADPI, is supervising the project.

Primarily the cost of the project was estimated to be 250 million USD. However, following additional work the project cost reached 345 million USD.

Currently 25 percent of the expansion project has been finalized, Wondim noted. “We expect to finalize the civil work by August 2016. The whole project is due for completion within two-and-a-half years but the contractor is working day and night to finalize the project a head of the schedule.”

Wondim also explained the Enterprise aimed to build an airport city, first of its kind in Ethiopia. The airport city is estimated to cost 4 billion USD.

Source: The Reporter