Ethiopia’s planned Bishoftu International Airport, a multi-billion-dollar aviation project designed to handle up to one hundred and ten million passengers a year, has been ranked among the world’s largest airport developments currently under construction, as reported by Fana Media Corporation (FMC).

Construction Briefing, a global infrastructure industry platform, has included the Bishoftu project in its latest list of fifteen major airport projects worldwide, compiled on the basis of construction cost, passenger capacity and terminal scale.

The Ethiopian development appears alongside high-profile projects such as Australia’s Western Sydney Airport, India’s Noida International Airport, and major airport expansions in San Francisco and San Diego in the United States.

Located about 40 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, the Bishoftu airport is being developed by Ethiopian Airlines Group to ease capacity constraints at Bole International Airport and support long-term growth in passenger and cargo traffic. The project is expected to become Africa’s largest airport once fully completed.

According to Construction Briefing, the planned use of advanced aviation technology, a multi-terminal layout and large-scale design places Bishoftu in the same category as the world’s leading international hubs under development.

The project is structured in phases. The first phase, scheduled for completion in 2029, is designed to handle sixty million passengers annually. Once all construction phases are completed, total capacity is expected to reach up to one hundred and ten million passengers a year.

Design work has already been finalised. Zaha Hadid Architects and Dar Al-Handasah have been appointed as lead design and engineering consultants. The wider construction effort brings together more than forty local and international firms, including engineering companies, technical advisers, project managers and supervisory consultants.

Beyond passenger services, the airport is planned as a large aviation and logistics complex, incorporating cargo facilities, maintenance and repair operations, and commercial infrastructure intended to support trade, tourism and air-linked investment.

Financing for the project is being led by the African Development Bank, which is acting as the mandated lead arranger and mobiliser for international funding. The total project cost has been estimated at 10 billion US dollars.