The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has reportedly promised to assist Ethiopia with building a massive airport south of Addis Ababa.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $10 billion, and the airport will be capable of handling 60 million passengers per year when it comes online in 2029.
The Bishoftu International Airport, first conceived in 2018, is among the most ambitious aviation projects in African history. Its passenger capacity could be expanded to 110 million per year in the future, which would put it on par with the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
The existing airport in Addis Ababa, Bole International Airport, can only handle about 19 million passengers per year. The largest airport currently operating in Africa – O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa – services over 21 million passengers a year.
The Bishoftu design includes an “airport city” with shopping malls, hotels, and railroad links, which are uncommon amenities in African airports.
The Bishoftu project is also rated to handle nearly four million tons of cargo per year, making it a major continental hub for both passengers and goods. The African Development Bank (AfDB), a co-financier of the project, envisions the airport in Ethiopia as a key element of its “Integrate Africa” initiative, which aims to make the movement of passengers and goods across Africa’s difficult terrain easier and less expensive.
Another major partner in the initiative is Ethiopian Airlines, the national flag carrier and one of the oldest airlines in Africa. Ethiopian Airlines held an event in Addis Ababa in September to showcase the project and attract more foreign investors.
U.S. Senior Adviser for Africa Massad Boulos announced U.S. support for the Bishoftu airport project at a press conference on Monday, after returning from an official visit to Ethiopia.
Boulos did not specify the exact scale of the U.S. commitment, but AfDB is putting together about $8 billion in financing, and the African Development Bank is seeking board approval for another $500 million, so about $1.5 billion remains to be covered.
Ethiopia has lately been slipping more into China’s orbit, so the Bishoftu airport project – the first major business investment in Africa of President Donald Trump’s second term – could be an effort to win back some influence. On Thursday, Ethiopia broke ground on a $2.5 billion Chinese-build oil refinery, which will be linked to the Hilala oil fields in the eastern border region of the country.
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