China approves US$ 700 million loan for Sudan airport
09 July 2013
A new international airport on the outskirts of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, is to be financed with a US$ 700 million loan from China, according to Sudan’s state news agency.
Sudanese Minister of Finance & National Economy Ali Mahmoud said the five-year loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China marked a turning point in the history of Chinese-Sudanese relations. He said the partnership would enable Sudan – which is subject to international sanctions imposed by the United Nations – to implement strategic projects.
Construction of the airport, which is planned to feature an 86,000 m2 passenger terminal and handle 6.8 million passengers a year, is due to start at the end of 2013 and last three years.
Oil is thought to be partly used as payment for Chinese development aid. China National Petroleum Company is the biggest investor in South Sudan’s oil fields, and Sudan reached an agreement with the autonomous South Sudan to allow oil exports to be shipped through Port Sudan in June this year.
