Ethiopian Airlines signs US$6 billion deal for mega airport
- Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, currently the airline’s hub, has a maximum capacity of 25 million passengers a year
Ethiopian Airlines has signed a deal for the design of a new US$6 billion airport described as the biggest in Africa, state media reported.
The new hub will be able to handle 100 million passengers a year once completed in five years, Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Mesfin Tasew was quoted as saying at a press conference on Friday.
He said Ethiopian Airlines had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dubai-based consulting company Dar to develop the design for the airport, which will have four runways.
It will be built in Bishoftu, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, and stretch across 35 square kilometres (13.5 square miles), he said.
“The first phase includes the construction of the airport facility with a capacity of 60 million passengers per year and the completion of phase two of the airport project will grow to handling more than 100 million passengers per year,” Mesfin said, according to state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.
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Dar director of operations Tariq Al-Qanni, who was at the press conference, said it would be the biggest airport in Africa once complete, Fana reported.
