Ethiopia will build a new airport

Within five years, the largest airline in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines, plans to build a gigantic airport. This airport will be located outside of Addis Ababa and will be able to handle a quarter of Africa's population.

The Ethiopian airline, Ethiopian Airlines, has signed an agreement to construct a new airport for six billion US dollars (around 5.5 billion euros) near the capital Addis Ababa. Once completed in five years, the airport is expected to handle 100 million passengers annually, according to airline CEO Mesfin Tasew. According to state media, it will be the largest airport in Africa.

Tasew stated that the airline and the Dubai-based consulting firm Dar signed a memorandum of understanding to plan the airport, which will feature four runways. The airport will be located in Bishoftu, about 40 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa, and will cover an area of 35 square kilometers, Tasew further explained. According to him, the hub will be built in two phases: after the first phase, it will be able to handle 60 million passengers annually. Upon completion, the capacity will then be 100 million passengers – roughly equivalent to a quarter of Africa's total population.

Ethiopian Airlines is the largest airline on the African continent. For the fiscal year 2023/24, it reported revenues of seven billion US dollars and transported 17.1 million passengers. The Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, currently the airline's hub, can handle up to 25 million passengers annually.