ECAIR - Equatorial Congo Airlines (EJ, Brazzaville) is set to develop Brazzaville as a regional Central African hub with the imminent launch of routes to Libreville Leon M'Ba, along with Lomé, Malabo and Luanda 4 De Fevereiro later this year. According to ECAir Chairman, Jean Louis Osso, flights to Beirut, Dakar Yoff-Léopold Sédar Senghor International and Bamako are also on the cards. To aide the expansion, the Congolese carrier will take delivery of two new B737-700s in May to be followed by a B767. Mr Osso also disclosed that the airline is in talks with Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International), Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) and considering opening dialogue with Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) over possible partnership plans. Having poured in USD164million into the most recent upgrade to Brazzaville's Maya Maya International Airport, Congolese strongman, Denis Sassou Nguesso, said the repositioning of the airport as a central African hub was core to his government's economic vision for the country. Just 25km away, across the Congo River, Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) is in the process of establishing its own Central African hub out of Kinshasa N'Djili.