A NEW giant $6 billion (£4.7 billion) international airport, which could handle up to 100,000 passengers a year, is set to be built and opened within the next five years following a deal to build it.
Ethiopia has signed an agreement to design the new travel hub, which will have four runways and will be Africa’s largest when completed.
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This is expected to happen in 2029, the head of state-owned Ethiopian Airlines said last week.
The new airport will be built next to the town of Bishoftu, about 28 miles from the capital Addis Ababa.
The airport will have the capacity to handle 100 million passengers annually and accommodate up to 270 aircraft.
The airline’s CEO, Mesfin Tasew, said at a press conference that the new airport was necessary because the current one in the city was reaching its capacity limits.
Mesfin said Bole Addis Ababa International Airport, Ethiopian Airlines’ current hub, will soon reach its capacity limit, which is only a quarter of the new airport’s capacity.
Plans to build the airport were first announced in 2018 as Africa’s largest airline sought to handle more passengers.
Mesfin said: “It is a five-year project that will be completed in 2029. It will be the largest in Africa.”
“Phase one alone will cost at least $6 billion… The money will be provided through loans and there are already companies that have shown interest.”
Dubai-based engineering and consulting firm Sidara will design the airport, said the company’s operations manager Tariq Al Qanni.
Ethiopian Airlines carried 17 million passengers in the 2023/2024 financial year and expects to carry 20 million passengers in the financial year that began in July.
The new African airport is one of several major airports planned for the next few years.
Two others in the Middle East have plans to become the largest in the world in the next few years.
One of them is Al Maktoum International Airport (also known as Dubai World Central), which began its first passenger flights in 2013.
According to CNN Travel, Al Maktoum International Airport was to become a futuristic “mega-hub” with six runways and three terminals.
Plans for new airports around the world
Ethiopia is not the only country with plans for a new airport
The Maldives
Work on building a major airport in the Maldives is nearing completion.
It is hoped that the $800 million (£620 million) expansion will open up new parts of the island nation and have a “transformative effect” on the local economy by increasing tourist numbers.
Hanimaadhoo Airport in the north of the country is scheduled to open its doors at the end of this year.
There will be a new 2.5-kilometer runway, a terminal with a capacity of 1.3 million passengers per year and a jet fuel storage facility.
There will also be a sea terminal building, with the airport located directly on the coast of the island.
Norway
Bodø Airport is set to be replaced by the creatively named New Bodø Airport when it opens to passengers in 2029.
The new airport will be built around 900 m south of the existing airport site.
As part of the project, a 25,000 square meter terminal and additional operational buildings will be built.
Further specific details of the project, including possible airport features and flight routes, have yet to be announced.
It is estimated that the construction of the new Bodø airport will cost $720 million (£564 million).
When the airport opens in 2029, it will be able to handle up to 2.3 million passengers annually.
Italy
A new £400 million terminal is set to open just off the coast of Salerno on the Amalfi Coast.
More than £400 million has been invested in the new building, which includes a longer runway and new parking spaces for passengers.
When the airport is fully open, there will be five new gates equipped with state-of-the-art systems to make it as environmentally friendly as possible.
It is hoped that the new terminal will eventually serve three million visitors after the first three years.
It is believed that Dubai may need a new airport in the 2030s, but the exact timing is still uncertain.
This will allow time to present plans for the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, which could handle up to 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo annually.
King Salman International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to open by 2030.
When the airport is operational, it will have six runways and its terminals are expected to handle 120 million passengers annually.
The huge new transport hub will cover an area of 57 square kilometers and is called an “Aerotropolis.”
Meanwhile, there are plans to build three brand new airports on the world’s largest island, one of which is scheduled to open this year.
And a new £1.8 billion facility is being built at a European airport to handle even more flights.
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