Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) is set to expand its sub-Saharan Africa footprint with the recent announcement that it will base its Central African hub out of Kinshasa N'Djili. According to CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, the establishment of the hub in Kinshasa would "secure transfer traffic amid growing competition from Middle Eastern operators". Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport) in particular is seen as a threat given their increased activity in the region as well as their purported involvement with the Congolese government in setting up a new national airline. Meanwhile, the airline's planned Southern African hub could hinge on Malawi following a recent announcement there by Minister of Transport and Public Works, Sidik Mia, that a renewed Air Malawi (Blantyre), in which Ethiopian acquired a 49% stake, should be operational "before the end of the month (June)". Ethiopian also has designs on a potential carrier in Lusaka, Zambia, though no official confirmation on the project's current status is known.