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Ethiopian Airlines Gets Major Loan From PTA Bank

Ethiopian Airlines Gets Major Loan From PTA Bank

From NBE

Ethiopian Airlines secures a total of $40 million loan from the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (PTA) to finance housing project of its employees.

The two sides signed a $ 22 million loan agreement  on  September 9,2013  here in Addis Ababa at Capital. According to the agreement, the loan will go to financing the first phase of the Airlines housing project which aims to build 1,192 houses for its employees.

PTA Bank was established 29 years ago as the bank of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Ethiopia is a founding member of the bank which has now a total of 17 member countries and two stakeholders, namely the Peoples Republic of China and African Development Bank.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ethiopian CEO Tewolde Gebre-Mariam said that the agreement was part of a bigger loan that the Bank has approved to provide for the Airlines. He added that it can be considered as an agreement between two pan-African institutions.

Ethiopian Airlines, not only covers the entire Africa by flying to 46 destinations in the continent, but also is providing training and aircraft maintenance to Africans thereby proving its being a pan-African airlines, Tewolde explained.

According to the CEO, the housing project is part of the effort the Airlines is undertaking to retain its human resources, who otherwise migrate to the developed world in search of better facilities that include housing.

PTA Bank President and Chief Executive Admasu Tadesse said on the occasion that the Bank has decided to make the Ethiopian as one of the beneficiaries of its loan services because it has a great deal of confidence on the Airlines. “By supporting the Ethiopian Airlines, we believe we can support the entire region,” Admasu said.

Apart from Ethiopian Airlines, Habesha Cement, a company formed with share offering to the public about five years ago and has not not began operation, will also be another beneficiary of PTA Bank’s loan services.

Read more at NBE.