Ethiopia is on its way to building what it calls ‘Africa’s biggest’ airport, expected to have space for two hundred and seventy planes.
The $12.5billion construction project is expected to handle up to 110 million passengers annually, more than 4 times the capacity of the country’s current airport.
The country which completed the building of Africa’s largest dam says the airport will be located at Bishoftu, about 28 miles to the capital.
“Bishoftu International Airport will be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa’s history,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said on X.
Abraham Tesfaye, the Infrastructure Development & Planning Director of the Ethiopian Airline which is spearheading the construction told reporters that the airline will be responsible for 30 percent of funding for the project with the remaining 70 percent funds pulled from lenders.
“Various financiers from Middle East, China, Europe and the US have been involved. So, we will put all of these as a pool and access it from there,” Tesfaye said.
Other creditors for the project include the African Development Bank (ADB), which has pledged $500 million towards the project.
According to Tesfaye, the Ethiopian Airline has already allocated $610 million for earthworks, which are due to be completed in one year.
The project’s main contractors are scheduled to start work in August 2026.
