Ethiopian Airlines has signed a deal with the Dubai-based engineering firm Sidara to design a new four-runway airport near Bishoftu, about 45 km from Addis Ababa. Once completed, the airport will become the largest in Africa with the capacity for 100 million passengers and 270 aircraft annually. The project, first announced in 2018, will cost at least $6 billion for the first phase alone. According to Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO Mesfin Tasew, it will be funded through loans, with some companies already showing interest. Tasew also revealed that the current hub, Bole Addis Ababa International Airport, is nearing its capacity of 25 million passengers per year as demand for Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest airline, rises across the globe. The airline, which carried 17 million passengers in the 2023/2024 financial year, expects to serve about 20 million passengers in the current financial year.
SOURCE: EAST AFRICAN
Ethiopian Airlines Awards Contract for Design of Africa’s Biggest Airport
