Ethiopian Airlines signs deal for design of ‘biggest airport in Africa’

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Ethiopia has signed an agreement for the design of a new four-runway airport that will be Africa’s biggest when construction is completed in 2029, the head of state-owned Ethiopian Airlines said on Friday.

Located near the town of Bishoftu, around 45 km (28 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, the airport will have capacity to handle 100 million passengers a year and provide parking for 270 aircraft, Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO Mesfin Tasew told a news conference.

Dubai-based engineering and consulting firm Sidara will design the airport, the company’s director of operations Tariq Al Qanni said.

Plans to build the airport were first announced in 2018.

Mesfin said Bole Addis Ababa International Airport, the current main hub for Africa’s biggest airline, will soon reach its capacity of serving 25 million passengers per year.

“It is a five-year project (that) will be finalised in 2029. It will be the biggest in Africa,” Mesfin said.

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“Phase one alone will cost at least $6 billion… The money will come through loans and there are already companies that already showed interest.”

Ethiopian Airlines carried 17 million passengers in the 2023/2024 financial year, and expects to carry 20 million passengers in the financial year that started in July.