Eritrea: Kenya Airways to fly to Asmara, Coca Cola in biz soon

28 March 2006

ASMARA, ERITREA - Kenya Airways will start flights to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea in May, while Coca-Cola is expected to resume operations it suspended there nearly a year ago, officials said on Monday.

Both cases are relatively rare flashes of private-sector activity in the Red Sea state's highly state-controlled economy, which is often short of basic commodities such as bread and fuel.

"We are planning to launch a flight from the third of May from Nairobi to Asmara and back," Kenya Airways spokesman Patterson Siema said.

The twice-weekly flights will stop in Djibouti rather than fly directly because passenger numbers are expected to be low, he said.

The Kenyan national carrier has never flown there before, Siema said.

Information Minister Abdu told Reuters Coca-Cola was expected to resume operations in Eritrea but gave few details, saying the development was not a national issue.

A spokesman for Coca-Cola's regional headquarters in Nairobi could not be reached for comment after business hours.

The soft drink giant stopped operating in Eritrea less than a year ago because of a dispute with a government-owned company over the price of syrup needed to make the drink.

Analysts say Eritrea's frequent shortages of basic commodities are linked to high military spending, closed borders, persistent drought, government control of the economy and high fuel prices. Reuters