Ethiopian Airlines Cargo has signed a partnership deal with International Djibouti Industrial Park Operation (IDIPO) and Air Djibouti to jointly commence sea-air multimodal transportation between China and Africa.
In a statement, it said based on the agreement, the cargo will be transported from China to Djibouti Free Zone by sea and will be uplifted by air from Djibouti International Airport.
Rise in China-Africa trade
"The synergy between air and sea transportation is highly instrumental in facilitating trade between Africa and China through fast and easy movement of cargo. The collaboration will save both time and energy in addition to stimulating the growth of cargo market in Africa," Ethiopian said.
It added that the transportation deal enables traders to order their products from China to Africa via Djibouti port and Ethiopian facilitates the air movement of goods to different parts of Africa through its vast network.
"We are pleased to have signed this agreement which will establish the necessary infrastructure and institutional system to enable us provide new logistics product called "SAM" (Sea -Air-Modal) which is highly cost-effective multimodal transportation solution for African businesses," commented Tewolde GebreMariam, Ethiopian Group CEO.
"This product will use Sea Freight from China to Djibouti sea port and air freight from Djibouti Airport to all African cities."
The Ethiopian Group chief said this new multi-modal logistics solution will enable African businesses, multinational companies, Chinese companies and other businesspeople to enhance their supply chain management system with the best combination of speed, cost and quality services.
"Huge potential" noted
"We have kept on playing a key role in both African and global cargo and logistics business and will continuously advance our cargo services to meet our customers’ increasing demand," Tewolde GebreMariam added.
Ethiopian noted that 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.
As the world's production base, China is the largest supplier, while Africa with a population of 1.3 billion has a huge market demand.
Ethiopian said in its statement that China has been Africa's largest trading partner with a trade volume of US$254 billion in 2021.
"Taking advantages of the best African sea port in Djibouti and the best airport in Ethiopia, Sino-African Sea-Air Express has been created by combining their respective wide freight networks," it added.
