Ethiopian Airlines has signed a contract with a Dubai-based engineering and consulting company, Dar Al-Handasah, to design Africas largest airport aiming to manage up to 110million passengers per year four times the capacity of Bole Addis Ababa International Airport.
According to Ethiopian Airlines Regional Manager for Southern Africa Abel Yifru , the airport will be near the town of Bishoftu, around 45km south of Addis Ababa, with capacity to park 270 aircraft. Plans to build the airport were originally announced in 2018.
Targeted for completion by 2029, phase one of the project is expected to cost at least US$6billion, providing capacity for 60 million passengers. According to an Ethiopian Airlines press statement, the four-runway airport will include:
- 1.1 million square metre terminal with passenger facilities
- 126 190 square metres of airline support facilities
- over 100 000 square metres of cargo and airport support facilities.
The project comes in the wake of projections that Bole Addis Ababa International Airport, the current hub for Ethiopian Airlines, will soon reach its capacity to serve 25 million passengers per year.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew said it would help to achieve the East African countrys aim to become a global aviation hub.
