Ethiopia Launches Construction of Africa’s Largest Airport – PM Abiy

Ethiopia on Saturday began construction of what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says will be Africa’s biggest airport, located in Bishoftu, southeast of the capital Addis Ababa.

The Bishoftu hub is projected to cost around $12.7 billion and, at full capacity, will accommodate up to 110 million passengers annually. Construction is expected to take five years. Partly financed by Ethiopian Airlines, the new facility is intended to replace Addis Ababa’s Bole Airport, which currently handles 25 million passengers each year.

“This multi-airport strategy aims to future-proof Ethiopia’s role as Africa’s leading air transport gateway,” Abiy said in a post on X, describing the project as “the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa’s history.” He added that the airport will boost Ethiopian Airlines’ global competitiveness, enhance African connectivity, expand trade and tourism corridors, and position Ethiopia as a key intercontinental hub.

The project includes a multi-lane motorway linking the airport to the capital and a 38-kilometre high-speed railway capable of speeds up to 124 mph (200 kph). The African Development Bank has committed $500 million, with further funding negotiations underway with the Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and US Development Finance Corporation.

Despite ongoing conflicts in Amhara and Oromia regions, where Bishoftu is located, Ethiopia hopes the airport will attract foreign tourism. The 35-square-kilometre site has already displaced 2,500 farmers, re-housed at a cost of $350 million, according to Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation with around 130 million people, has been investing heavily in infrastructure, recently inaugurating the continent’s largest dam and undertaking major urban renewal projects in Addis Ababa and other cities.

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