Ethiopian Airlines signs deal for design of Africa's largest airport

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Ethiopia has signed an agreement to design a new four-runway airport near Bishoftu, 45 km from Addis Ababa. Scheduled for completion in 2029, the airport will be Africa's largest, with a capacity for 100 million passengers annually and parking for 270 aircraft, according to Ethiopian Airlines' CEO Mesfin Tasew.

A member of the ground crew directs an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane at the Bole International Airport in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, August 21, 2015. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

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 says Bole Addis Ababa International Airport, the current main hub for Africa's biggest airline, will soon reach its capacity of serving 25 million passengers annually. "It is a five-year project (that) will be finalised in 2029. It will be the biggest in Africa."

"Phase one alone will cost at least $6bn... 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.