On 10 January 2026, the foundation stone was laid of Bishoftu International Airport, the new airport commissioned by the Ethiopian Airlines Group and designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in Bishofu, about 40 km south of the capital.
The mammoth complex is set to become the largest airport on the African continent and a strategic hub at the crossroads between Africa, Asia and the Middle East. As Cristiano Ceccato di Sabata, Director of Aviation at Zaha Hadid Architects, notes, “Bishoftu International Airport is a visionary project for Ethiopia and Africa as a whole. Airports bring people together and bridge national divides. ZHA is honoured to be part its development—connecting every region of the continent as Africa’s global gateway”.
The infrastructure, which is expected to open in 2030, will be built in stages: the first phase will see the construction of two independent runways and a 660,000 square metre terminal that will serve 60 million passengers per year, before reaching 110 million passengers per year with four runways in subsequent phases. The airport will be connected to the centre of Addis Ababa and the current Bole airport by a high-speed rail link, functioning as a milestone in a new regional transport network.
