Ethiopian Airlines today inaugurated its state of the art Cargo Terminal-II. The inauguration was held in the presence of H.E. Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of the FDRE, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Shide, Minister of Transport and Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam GCEO Ethiopian Airlines, other high level government officials and participants of the ICAO Cargo Forum.
H.E. Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn remarked: “Today, the national flag carrier has become the largest aviation Group and the fastest growing airline in Africa unrivalled in efficiency with shining operational excellence. Above all, Ethiopian Airlines has played an important and irreplaceable role in the development of the economy, export and import activities and foreign exchange earnings.”
Mr Tewolde also acknowledged partners who has contributed for the successful completion of the project and further remarked: “The new Cargo Terminal-II combined with our existing Terminal-I will give us a total tonnage capacity of around 1 million per annum which is the largest in the continent of Africa. This milestone will make Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services one of the world’s largest cargo terminals; comparable with cargo terminals in Amsterdam Schiphol, Singapore Changi, or Hong Kong.”
Covering a total area of 150,000 m2 area of land, the new Cargo Terminal includes facilities such as Dry Cargo Terminal warehouse, Perishable Cargo Terminal with cool Chain Storage, fully automated with latest technology ETV (Elevating Transport Vehicle), G+2 office building, apron area which accommodates 5 additional big freighter aircraft, sufficient truck parking apron as well as employees canteen and wash rooms. The new Cargo Terminal is also fitted with different climate chambers for storage and handling of temperature sensitive products such as fresh agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, life Science Products, etc.
Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked: “Infrastructure development being one of the four pillars of our fast, profitable and sustainable growth strategic roadmap, Vision 2025, we have been making massive investments in infrastructure projects to modernize and expand our cargo facilities at a total cost of USD 150 million. The new Cargo Terminal-II combined with our existing Terminal-I will give us a total tonnage capacity of around 1 million per annum which is the largest in the continent of Africa. Moreover, upon completion of the second phase, which adds 600, 000 tones annual uplift capacity, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services will have one of the world’s largest cargo terminals; a capability equivalent to cargo terminals in Amsterdam Schiphol, Singapore Changi, or Hong Kong. This investment and the resulting massive cargo facilities along with the 6 modern B-777F fleet and 2 B-757F will create adequate air cargo transporting capacity for the fast growing export and import demand of the continent which is critically essential in the socio economic development of the African countries.”
Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services operates 8 dedicated freighters to 39 global freighter destinations in Africa, the Gulf, the Middle East, Asia and Europe with an average daily uplift of 650 tons on top of the belly hold capacity, 150 tons, to over 95 destinations globally. (Source – Ethiopian Press Release)
