A new ATR for Madagascar Airlines
A new ATR 72-500 joined the Madagascar Airlines fleet in December, which now has four examples of this small carrier to serve the Malagasy domestic network. In order to cope with the end-of-year traffic peak, the Malagasy company also leased another ATR 72-500 with crew in December. Since July, it has also leased a Dash 8 Q400 with 72 seats to the South African company CemAir..
Madagascar Airlines, which replaced the defunct Air Madagascar and its subsidiary Tsaradia, struggling to meet demand on domestic flights in high season.
Or, protected species : several traffic intercepts at the end of the year
December 23, 53 kilos of gold ingots were seized by the customs officer at Ivato airport. The precious metal was to be flown to Dubai in a “diplomatic suitcase”, with the complicity of three senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Two of them were immediately arrested, their department head fled. About ten days earlier, 11 kilos of departing gold had already been intercepted at the same airport. Since February 2024, Madagascar has established a single window through which all gold exports must pass. According to the Ministry of Mines, 12 kilos were legally exported via this channel, while a ton of gold would be smuggled out of the Big Island every month. Christmas Eve, a deputy and parliamentary assistants were also arrested near Antananarivo. In their car were 113 turtles belonging to protected species. These two cases further discredit the summits of the Malagasy state, and several representatives of civil society have called for exemplary sanctions against their protagonists. A few days later, 800 star tortoises, about to be illegally exported by a Tanzanian national, were discovered at Majunga.
The ADB wants to open up the Malagasy South-West
The African Development Bank released a $165 million loan to Madagascar in December to finance the reconstruction of roads in the southwest of the country.. La RN55, which serves the coastal town of Morombe, will thus be paved over 78 km, , and several bridges will be rebuilt on the RN9, which descends from the Middle West towards Tuléar. The two axes will also be connected.
“These roads will directly connect rural communities to markets, to health care and education, while indirectly promoting entrepreneurship”, comments the ADB.
Toliara Sands : relaunch of a contested project
Stopped since 2021, after having sparked numerous local protests, the Toliara Sands mining project is relaunched. The American group Energy Fuels recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malagasy authorities, providing for $80 million in investments in the development of the region from the fourth year of operation of the area, which contains various rare resources sought by 21st century industries. On and extract rutile, ilmenite, zircon et monazite. Putting the mining zone into operation will require more than $700 million in investment and the activity must continue for thirty-eight years..
BNI borrows to lend to small businesses
The National Investment Bank, whose main shareholders are the Axian groups (Madagascar) and Sky (Maurice), took out a $30 million loan from International Finance Corporation on December 13, the World Bank entity dedicated to private sector financing. These funds will be directed towards small businesses, which contribute 60% to the national GDP. The agreement includes a guarantee which reduces the risk of the lending bank and a system for managing exchange risks between the dollar and the ariary..
