\n\tBISHOFTU:\u00a0Ethiopia on Saturday began construction of what the prime minister says will be Africa\u2019s largest airport, when completed, in the town of Bishoftu, southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe massive travel hub is expected to cost approximately $12.7 billion and will eventually be able to handle approximately 110 million passengers per year at full capacity. Construction is expected to take five years.<\/p>\n
\n\tPartly financed by national carrier Ethiopian Airlines, the Bishoftu hub is expected to replace the capital\u2019s Bole Airport, which can handle up to 25 million passengers annually.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tThis multi-airport strategy aims to future-proof Ethiopia\u2019s role as Africa\u2019s leading air transport gateway.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tAbiy Ahmed, Ethiopia\u2019s prime minister<\/p>\n
\n\tPrime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u00a0on Saturday announced construction of \u201cthe largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa\u2019s history\u201d had begun.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis multi-airport strategy aims to future-proof Ethiopia\u2019s role as Africa\u2019s leading air transport gateway,\u201d he said in a post on X.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe added that the project will strengthen Ethiopian Airlines\u2019 global competitiveness, enhance African connectivity, expand trade and tourism corridors, and position Ethiopia as a major intercontinental hub. The project includes a multi-lane motorway to link the new facility to the capital and a 38-kilometer high-speed railway, which Abiy said would reach speeds of up to 200 kph.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe African Development Bank has earmarked $500 million for the project, and Ethiopian authorities are in talks to
raise additional tranches with the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment
Bank, and the US Development Finance Corporation. Ethiopia hopes to attract foreign tourists despite the ongoing armed conflict in its two most populous regions \u2014 Amhara and Oromia \u2014 with Bishoftu located in the latter.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe future airport, which will sit on a 35-square-km site, has already displaced 2,500 farmers, who were re-housed last year at a cost of $350 million, Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele said in November. Ethiopia, Africa\u2019s second-most populous country with some 130 million inhabitants, has launched major infrastructure projects in recent years.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt officially inaugurated the continent\u2019s largest dam last year, and extensive urban renewal projects are underway in Addis Ababa and other major cities.<\/p>\n
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