Ethiopian Airlines has signed a 50 million Euro ($68 million) loan agreement with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) that will be used to finance the construction of a new state-of-the-art cargo terminal, the airline’s chief executive, Tewolde Gebremariam, said.

Tewolde said the loan will help the African carrier to build a new cargo terminal which upon completion will have an annual capacity of 1.2 Million Tons. This is part of the company’s Vision 2025 plan that aims to support the nation’s fast growing export of perishables.

“This credit agreement is the second of its kind after the one signed for the expansion and upgrading of Ethiopian Airlines multinational aviation training center which is nearly completed partially in operation. The new agreement shows our commitment to further support Ethiopian in its growth plan,” Christian YOKA, AFD Regional Director, said in an Ethiopian Airlines Press Release.

The Ethiopian government said  it had generated $2.6 billion from the export of goods and commodities within the last 10 months, Trade  Ministry official announced on Tuesday. The ministry’s Spokesperson, Amakele,Yimam ,said that the amount was generated mainly from the export of animals, fruits and vegetables, coffee, hide and skin, textile and garments.

Major destinations of Ethiopian products during the 10 months of the current fiscal year are Somalia, China, Germany, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.