Ethiopian Airlines and AfDB Ink Deal to Finance $10B Airport
On 11 August 2025, Ethiopian Airlines and the African Development Bank (AfDB) signed a financing agreement to raise nearly USD 10 billion for the construction of the new #BishoftuAirport. The President of AfDB Akinwumi Adesina and Ethiopian Airlines Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Lemma Yadecha signed their names to the contract, under the approving gaze of Ethiopian Finance Minister Ahmed Shide.
As per the agreement, AfDB will seed the venture with an initial loan of USD 500 million and act as lead arranger for the mobilization of funds. On the other hand, Ethiopian Airlines has agreed to come up with at least 20% of the budget for the project. KPMG is the transaction advisor with financial close anticipated by end of 2026 and construction is expected to start in early 2027.
The new Abusera International Airport is planned to be built in Bishoftu, a town some 40 kilometers along the A1 highway in the southeast of Addis Ababa. The current Bole International Airport is also located in the southeastern suburb of Addis Ababa, less than 10 km from the city center. It is worth noting that Bishoftu is the primary airbase for the Ethiopian Air Force.
“This $10 billion U.S. dollars investment, the largest project in our country’s history, addresses the region’s rapidly growing air traffic demand, alleviating the saturation at Addis Ababa’s Bole international airport which is nearing its limit of 25 million passengers.”
Ethiopia Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide
“With 75 years of operational history, Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s oldest and best airline. It is critical for regional economic integration, connecting capitals, people and markets, with its globally rated cargo facilities.”
AfDB President Dr Akinwumi Adesina
Currently, the Bole International Airport handles nearly 20 million passenger-trips annually. It is thus fast approaching the saturation point with its maximum capacity of handling 25 million passenger-trips per year. In the case of the new airport, the design capacity will be for 110 million passenger-trips annually, with the first phase targeting 60 million passenger-trips.
Other notable guests at the signing ceremony included Malawi’s Minister of Finance Simplex Chithyola and several ambassadors in Addis Ababa, including South Sudan’s Boutros Deng, Togo’s Thomas Deji, Zambia’s Nawa Sibongo, as well as DR Congo’s Charge d’Affaires Exkael Kabongo.
As Africa’s top airline, Ethiopian Airlines is proud that the new aviation hub fits nicely into the Single Africa Air Transport Market (#SAATM) which is a flagship project under the African Union’s #Agenda2063. In addition, the mega airport is an integral part of Ethiopia’s own National Development Plan (#NDP) known as #Vision2035.
A world-class architecture team, led by Dubai-based Sidara in collaboration with Zaha Hadid and Pascall+Watson, is responsible for the design. When fully operational by 2035, the Abusera International Airport is projected to become one of the largest and busiest airports in the world.