Africa’s brand new four runway airport will be continent’s largest and cost £6bn to build.
A new four-runway airport is being built in an East African country that’s expected to have the capacity to serve a whopping 110million passengers per year.
The airport, dubbed a “Mega Airport City” is being built near the town of Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 25 miles from the capital, Addis Ababa. It’s planned to be constructed in two phases, with the second completed in 2029.
Ethiopian Airlines’ chief executive Mesfin Tasew told a news conference last year that the first phase of the project alone would cost “at least $6 billion [around £4.7billion]”, explaining that the money would be raised through loans. Ethiopian Airlines Group reportedly awarded a consultancy contract to a consortium led by Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners), with Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA), Pascall+Watson Architects, Landrum&Brown, and TY Lin, to deliver the project.
It’s hoped that the epic travel hub, which will boast four runways and have aprons for 270 aircraft, will boost the nation’s economic growth.
Executives at Ethiopian Airlines believe the existing Addis Ababa Bole airport’s passenger traffic will soon exceed its designed capacity, despite it being expanded.
Source: EXPRESS
