Work starts on $12.5 billion construction set to be Africa’s biggest airport

Ethiopian Airlines has officially commenced work on a colossal $12.5 billion airport project, slated to become Africa's largest upon its anticipated completion in 2030.

The state-owned carrier initiated construction on Saturday in Bishoftu, a town situated approximately 45 kilometres southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa. Officials anticipate the new facility will boast four runways, with Ethiopian Airlines itself securing the contract for its design.

"Bishoftu International Airport will be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa's history," Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said on X. The airport will have space to park 270 planes and capacity for 110 million passengers a year.

That is more than four times the capacity of Ethiopia's current main airport, which will reach its limits on existing traffic in the next two-to-three years, Abiy said.

The airline's Infrastructure Development & Planning Director Abraham Tesfaye told reporters it would fund 30% and lenders would finance the rest.

Map of Bishoftu:

It has already allocated $610 million for earthworks, which are due to be completed in one year, he said at the site, with the main contractors scheduled to start work in August 2026.

The project was initially billed at $10 billion.

Other creditors include the African Development Bank, which last August said it would lend $500 million and lead efforts to raise $8.7 billion.

"Lenders from Middle East, Europe, China and USA have shown strong interest to finance the project," Abraham said.

Ethiopian Airlines is Africa's biggest carrier. It added six extra routes in 2024/25, while revenues are also expanding.