Ethiopian Airlines Group has announced plans to build Africa’s largest airport in Abusera.
A critical element of Ethiopian’s 15-year strategic plan to become one of the most competitive
aviation groups in the world.
The airport’s location allows for progressive growth, empowering the airline to meet the
International Air Transport Association’s forecasts of more than 200% growth over the next
decade – growing beyond Bole International Airport, which offers no possibilities for significant
expansion. Abusera’s lower altitude will elevate aircraft take-off performance, while an express
rail link to Addis Ababa facilitates connectivity.
In its first phase scheduled for 2029, the airport will have capacity for 60 million passengers
annually – almost three times Africa’s current busiest airport – creating thousands of jobs to
serve Ethiopian’s expanding customer base and fleet. Ultimately, the airport will serve 110
million passengers annually – four times the capacity of Bole International Airport.
Ethiopian’s CEO Mesfin Tasew stated: “With its exceptional capacity and world-class facilities,
this new airport promises to elevate African aviation.”
To deliver this transformational new project, Ethiopian Airlines 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.
Dar, TY Lin, and Landrum & Brown belong to Sidara, a global collaborative that ranks 1 st in
aviation (Engineering News Record 2023). ZHA brings award-winning design capabilities and a
global track-record of acclaimed airport projects, while Pascall+Watson Architects has
successfully completed over 2,000 aviation projects across 70 airports.
Collectively, these companies will cover technical advisory, engineering, project management,
and construction supervision services for 600,000 m 2 of passenger facilities, 126,000 m 2 of
airline support facilities, two Code 4E parallel runways along with associated airfield
infrastructure, and other major airport facilities and infrastructure.
