Officials hope the vast project, which will greatly enhance the nation's flight capacity, will be a major boost for the economy.
22:19, Sun, Dec 14, 2025 Updated: 22:21, Sun, Dec 14, 2025
How the four-runway airport could look. (Image: Ethiopian Airlines)
A new, huge four-runway airport being built in East Africa is expected to have the capacity for tens of millions of passengers by the end of the decade. The Bishoftu International Airport (BIA) is a major transport infrastructure project set to be constructed near the town of Bishoftu, Ethiopia,.
Officials hope the project, which will greatly enhance the nation's flight capacity, will be a major boost for the economy while alleviating pressure on the nearby Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, which has already been expanded. The new travel hub, which will be only 25 miles from the capital, Addis Ababa, is planned to be built in two phases.
It's hoped the new travel hub will relieve pressure on Bole International Airport (pictured) (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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The first phase is set to be completed by 2030 with the aim of having the infrastructure in place to welcome 60million fliers per year.
That would mean it's capacity is some three times of Bole's currently, as per VisaVerge. It's hoped that the airport will eventually have the capacity for more than 100million.
Reuters suggests the project is set to cost $10 billion in total (around £7.4billion).
In addition to the runways and terminals, the project may eventually include the development of hotels, shopping malls, as well as commercial complex buildings, it was previously reported.
Ethiopian Airlines, which is owned by the state, has signed a deal for the design and will provide 20% of the funding, Reuters reports. The rest will be provided by creditors.
The African Development Bank, which is leading efforts to source the remaining financing, announced in August that it would be providing an investment of up to $500million (£373.7million) investment towards the project.
The bank said in a statement it had a sum up to that figure "subject to board approval, to anchor the funding of this transformational regional integration project", as per the outlet.
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