Ethiopia plans mega airport city to deliver global hub

Ethiopian Airlines is growing at a rate of 20 per cent annually. This has required the expansion of the existing hub Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. A new VIP terminal has been built and Terminal I and II have been expanded significantly, growing the annual passenger handling capacity to 25 million.

Considering the fast growth of the national carrier, executives of Ethiopian Airports believe that the passenger traffic will soon exceed the designed capacity of Bole International Airport. This has necessitated the construction of a new mega airport that will transform Ethiopia into a global aviation hub.

The French Consulting firm, ADPI, has been working on the site location near Addis Ababa. After shortlisting seven different locations finally Abusera, a locality found 40 km South East of the capital, was selected for its lower elevation and proximity to Addis Ababa, among other things.       

The mega airport city will have four runways and feature a 1.1 million sqm terminal including passenger facilities; 126,190 sqm of airline support facilities; and more than 100,000 sqm of cargo and airport support facilities.

It will also include an associated airfield and other essential airport infrastructure. The airport will have the capacity to handle 110 million passengers a year and provide aprons for 270 aircraft.

The project will be developed in two phases and when the first phase is completed in 2029 the airport will have two runways and a passenger terminal with annual handling capacity of 60 million passengers. The second phase of the project includes the construction of two additional runways, and a second terminal. The mega airport city will also include the development of shopping malls, commercial complex buildings, and hotels. When fully completed the mega airport will be in par with major global aviation hubs like Dubai and Heathrow.   

According to Mesfin Tasew, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, the main objective of the project is making Ethiopia a global aviation hub. “It will play a vital role in enhancing air connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world,” Tasew said. The state-of-the-art mega airport city is believed to revolutionise air travel in the Africa and Middle East region.    

Ethiopian Airlines Group has signed a technical advisory and consultancy contract with Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners), a partner with Zaha Hadid Architects, to embark on the design and supervision of the new international airport. Dar Al-Handasah is a privately-owned international consulting company active in engineering, architecture, planning, environmental consulting, project and construction management, facilities management, and economics, founded in 1956.

“The project will not only enhance connectivity, but also drive economic growth and prioritises environmentally-responsible practices in our country and beyond, reflecting the airline’s commitment to innovation and sustainability,” Tasew said. “With its exceptional capacity and world-class facilities, this new airport promises to elevate African aviation and strengthen partnerships, marking a significant advancement for the region’s air travel infrastructure.”

Ethiopian Airlines has rolled out an ambitious growth plan dubbed Vision 2035, which aims at making the aviation group a 25 billion USD company handling 67 million passengers per annum. In the 2023-2024 fiscal year the national airline carried 17 million passengers and generated a seven billion USD revenue. Tasew said the new airport will have a paramount importance in accommodating the airline’s fast-growth plan.    

Tariq Al-Qanni, director of operations in Ethiopia, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants, said that his company is privileged to be collaborating with Ethiopian Airlines on the mammoth project. “We are happy to work on this visionary project, which will provide vital global air connectivity, accelerate economic growth in Ethiopia, and elevate Ethiopian Airlines into Africa’s most strategic and most competitive aviation group,” Al-Qanni said.    

Sources told African Aerospace that Ethiopian Airlines Group has been holding talks with various international financial institutions including the EXIM Bank of China to secure funding for the massive project.