Nigeria, Aug. 12 -- Ethiopian Airlines Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have signed a mandate letter to finance what is set to become Africa's largest airport - a mega aviation hub in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, designed to transform air connectivity on the continent.

The agreement, signed on 11 August, appoints the AfDB as the Initial Mandated Lead Arranger (IMLA) for the project's financing. Under the deal, the Bank will provide $500 million in loans and lead efforts to mobilise additional funds for the greenfield facility, located 40 kilometres south of Addis Ababa in Abusera.

Ethiopian Airlines said when completed, the new airport will have an initial capacity of 60 million passengers annually, with potential expansion to 110 m...