The African Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged $500 million, pending board approval, to help finance a new international airport in Ethiopia. The facility will be located near Bishoftu, about 45 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa, and is set to be one of the most ambitious aviation projects in Africa.
The airport, projected to cost $10 billion, will be largely funded through a combination of Ethiopian Airlines’ own investment—covering 20% of the total—and loans sourced from other creditors, with AfDB taking the lead in mobilizing approximately $7.8 billion in additional financing.
When complete, the airport is expected to feature four runways and have the capacity to handle up to 100 million passengers annually by 2029. Initial operations will accommodate about 60 million passengers, with future expansion planned to increase capacity to 110 million.
Beyond passenger traffic, the development forms part of a broader “aerotropolis” vision aimed at boosting trade, logistics, and job creation in Ethiopia and across the continent.
Construction is scheduled to begin later in 2025, marking a significant step toward easing congestion at Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport and positioning Ethiopia as a leading global aviation hub.
