A $12.5 billion aviation project in Bishoftu aims to handle 110 million passengers annually by 2030, officials say<\/p>\n
Ethiopia has begun construction of an international airport, expected to open by 2030 and become Africa\u2019s largest.
\nEthiopia\u2019s state-owned carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, officially commenced construction on the $12.5 billion Bishoftu International Airport (BIA) on Saturday, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and airline executives.
\nBIA \u201cwill be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa\u2019s history,\u201d Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on X, adding that \u201cthe first phase of the airport will handle 60 million passengers per year, with an ultimate master plan capacity of 110 million passengers annually.\u201d
\nThe airport will include four runways and parking space for up to 270 aircraft, which vastly exceeds the capacity of the current main international airport, Addis Ababa\u2019s Bole International, with around 25 million passengers per year.<\/p>\n
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The airport site is located 40 km southeast of Addis Ababa at an altitude of 1,910 meters, which offers \u201coptimal conditions\u201d for handling origin-destination and transit passengers, Abiy said.
\nFunding for the airport will come from a mix of sources, including Ethiopian Airlines, international financiers, and the African Development Bank. According to the airline\u2019s Infrastructure Development and Planning director, Abraham Tesfaye, the national carrier will contribute around 30% of the project\u2019s cost, while the remaining funding will be provided by lenders.
\nThe project follows several other large infrastructure and industrial initiatives launched in Ethiopia in recent months. In October, Abiy Ahmed officially announced two major industrial projects in the southeastern city of Gode \u2013 a urea fertilizer plant and an oil refinery.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Ethiopia launches \u2018transformative\u2019 industrial projects<\/p>\n
In September, Ethiopia inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, Africa\u2019s largest hydroelectric facility, with a generation capacity of up to 5.15 gigawatts.<\/p>\n
Unveiling the design of Bishoftu International Airport.Africa\u2019s Global Gateway redefined. #FlyEthiopian pic.twitter.com\/pRb0koBNkA\u2014 Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) January 10, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A $12.5 billion aviation project in Bishoftu aims to handle 110 million passengers annually by 2030, officials say Ethiopia has begun construction of an international airport, expected to open by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t