Ethiopian targets sea-air in Africa with Djibouti partnership
08 / 03 / 2022
Photo: Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines has partnered with International Djibouti Industrial Park Operation (IDIPO) and Air Djibouti as it looks to develop sea-air operations between China and Africa.
Based on a strategic agreement signed between the parties, cargo will be transported from China to Djibouti Free Zone by sea and will then be transported to Djibouti International Airport for onward transportation by air.
Sea-air services are typically pitched as being less expensive than a pure air cargo operation but faster than a pure sea transport.
Ethiopian said the new multimodal logistics solution will enable African businesses, multinational companies, Chinese companies and other business people to enhance their supply chain management system with the best combination of speed, cost and quality services.
Ethiopian Airlines Group said it had experience in providing similar product through Dubai sea and airports.
“The markets of China and Africa are highly complementary and the partnership has huge potential in facilitating cost and time efficient logistics solutions for African traders,” the carrier said.
“As the world’s production base, China is the largest supplier, while Africa with a population of 1.3bn people has a huge market demand.
“China has been Africa’s largest trading partner with a trade volume of $254bn in 2021.”
