New £4.7billion international airport to become the ‘continent’s biggest’ with long-haul flights by 2029
A NEW giant international airport worth $6billion (£4.7bn) that could host as many as 100,000 passengers per year is set to be built and opened within the next five years after a deal was struck.
Ethiopia has signed an agreement for the design of the new travel hub, which will have four runways and will be Africa's biggest when work is completed.
That is expected to be in 2029, according to the head of the country's state-owned Ethiopian Airlines last week.
The new airport will be constructed next to the town of Bishoftu, which sits about 28 miles from the capital Addis Ababa.
It will have the facilities to deal with 100 million passengers each year, while as many as 270 aircraft could be stored there.
The airline's CEO Mesfin Tasew told a news conference that the new airport was needed with the current one in the city close to capacity.
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Mesfin said Bole Addis Ababa International Airport, which is Ethiopia Airlines' current hub, will soon hit its capacity, which is only quarter of what the new airport will be able to handle.
Plans to build the airport were first announced back in 2018 with Africa's biggest airline looking to serve more passengers.
Mesfin said: "It is a five-year project (that) will be finalised in 2029. It will be the biggest in Africa.
"Phase one alone will cost at least $6 billion... The money will come through loans and there are already companies that already showed interest."
Dubai-based engineering and consulting firm Sidara will design the airport, the company's director of operations Tariq Al Qanni said.
Ethiopian Airlines carried 17 million passengers in the 2023/2024 financial year, and expects to carry 20 million passengers in the financial year that started in July.
The new African airport is one of a few giant airports being planned for the next few years.
Two others in the Middle East have plans to become the World's biggest in the next few years.
One of which is Al Maktoum International Airport (also known as Dubai World Central), which first started welcoming passenger flights in 2013.
According to , Al Maktoum International Airport had plans to become a futuristic "mega-hub" with six runways and three terminals.
Plans for New Airports Across the World
Ethiopia isn't the only country with plans for a new airport
The Maldives
Work on a major airport development in the Maldives is nearing completion.
It is hoped that the $800m (£620m) expansion will open up new parts of the island nation, and have a "transformative effect" on the local economy by boosting tourist numbers.
Hanimaadhoo Airport in the north of the country is set to open its doors at the end of this year.
It will have a new 1.6 mile-long runway, a 1.3 million-passenger per year terminal, and a jet fuel storage facility.
There will also be a sea terminal building, with the airport sitting right along the shore 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 located around 900m south of the airport's current site.
A 25,00sqm terminal will be built as part of the project as well as other operational buildings.
Other specific details about the project, including any airport features and flight routes, have yet to be revealed.
It is thought that New Bodø Airport will cost $720million (£564million) to build.
When the airport opens in 2029, it will be able to handle up to 2.3million passengers every year.
Italy
A new £400m terminal is due to open right on the coast of Salerno on the Amalfi Coast.
More than £400million has been spent on the development, which will boast a longer runway and a new parking area for passengers.
When the airport fully opens, there will be five new boarding gates, with state of the art systems introduced to make it as environmentally friendly as possible.
It's hoped that the new terminal will eventually serve three million visitors after its first three years.
It is thought that Dubai could need a new airport in the 2030s - although exactly when remains to be seen.
This will allow time for plans to be put forward for the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport, which could handle as many as 160million passengers per year, as well as 12m tonnes of freight.
Elsewhere, King Salman International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is due to be open by 2030.
When it's ready to use, it will have six runways and is expected to see 120million passengers pass through its terminals every year.
The huge new travel hub will be spread across over 57 square kilometres (22 square miles) and has been labelled an "aerotropolis".
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Meanwhile, the world's biggest island has plans to build three brand new airports, with one opening as soon as this year.
And a new £1.8bn feature is being built at a European airport, allowing it to host even more flights.