Ethiopia is currently constructing a $5 billion mega-airport.
Ethiopian Airlines is the national airline of Ethiopia, having its headquarters in Addis
Ababa.
For more than 60 years, the airline has grown into one of the continent's top carriers,
unrivaled in Africa for efficiency and operational success.
It has generated profits for almost all of its years in operation.
It has also developed into one of Ethiopia's most important industries.
Ethiopian Airlines covers 53 international destinations with 157 weekly international
departures from Addis Ababa and a total of 410 weekly international departures from other
cities around the world.
Ethiopian Airlines is the world's largest airline by fleet size and number of destinations
served.
On December 30, 1945, Emperor Haile Selassie established Ethiopian Airlines with the support
of Trans World Airlines (TWA).
A weekly service between Addis Ababa and Cairo, operated by five Douglas DC-3 propeller-driven
aircraft, began operations on April 8, 1946.
Today, the airline is still in existence.
The airline began operating long-distance flights to Frankfurt in 1958 and launched
its first commercial jet service from Addis Ababa to Nairobi in January 1963, the latter
being the world's first.
During its mission to supply topographic maps of Ethiopia in the early 1960s, it supplied
some initial aircraft support to the Ethiopia-United States Mapping Mission, which was based in
Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Airlines began operations with pilots and technicians from the United States, but
by the airline's 25th anniversary in 1971, it was managed and staffed entirely by Ethiopians.
It began providing transatlantic services in 1998.
Ethiopian airline has come a long eay from what it used to be.
It can be seen that its growth has been exponential along the years and now its aiming for greater
things.
This can be seen with their plan to construct another airport to improve productivity and
profit.
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Ethiopian Airlines announced some exciting news to the globe about its future growth
ambitions.
Tewolde Gebremariam, the airline's chief executive officer, revealed that plans for a new $5
billion mega airport are now in the early phases of development.
Ethiopia's current primary airport is the Bole International Airport, which has been
declared the continent's busiest air gateway, surpassing Dubai in terms of passenger flow.
Earlier this year, Ethiopian Airlines announced intentions to construct a giant airport in
the Oromia area.
According to CEO Tewolde Gebremariam, who spoke at the time on state-run Fana Broadcasting
Corporate, negotiations with the Oromia regional state were underway to acquire the property
needed for the airport and an accompanying hotel at the time.
According to Gebremariam, in a recent interview with another local news agency, ENA, he provided
additional information regarding the proposed project.
It was announced back in 2018 by American Airlines that the airport will have an annual
capacity of 80 million people once it is fully operational.
It was to be constructed specifically in the town of Bishoftu, which is located approximately
48 kilometers southeast of the capital Addis Ababa.
The project will be built over 35 square kilometers of land and will be the largest airport in
Africa, according to reports.
It will be significantly larger than Dubai International Airport and will compete with
Istanbul International Airport.
Once completed, it would have a passenger handling capacity of 100 million passengers
per year and will include huge duty-free shopping malls, hotels, logistics and training facilities.
The regional government has given the go-ahead for the development of the "airport city"
in Bishoftu, specifically a location known as Absera, according to the company.
The goal is to relieve pressure on Bole International Airport as a result of the exponential development
in the number of passengers carried by the airlines year after year.
It would be one of the largest projects in the country, even larger than the Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam, or GERD, project, which is valued at $5 million.
The airline is the largest and fastest-growing carrier on the continent in terms of both
passengers and freight.
In the first quarter of 2019, it carried 12 million passengers and transported over 432,000
tons of freight, generating revenues in excess of $4 billion.
In addition, as part of its consolidation strategy, it has continued to expand its routes
around the world.
The airline also provides a significant amount of revenue to the thriving hotel business
in and around Addis Ababa.
At any given point in time, hundreds of travelers are accommodated in hotels in the Ethiopian
capital of Addis Ababa as they transit through the city.
A village known as Bishoftu, 39 kilometers south-east of Addis Ababa, will be the site
of the new airport, according to sources from the Reuters news agency.
If all of the construction is completed, the airport will have a total land size of 35
square kilometers and will be capable of handling 100 million passengers per year when it is
fully operational.
Ethiopian Airlines holds the distinction of being the largest airline in Africa, which
is a significant achievement in the aviation industry.
With a net profit of $260 million in the previous year, however, the airline believes it is
not being utilized to its maximum capacity.
In addition, it is the most profitable airline in the continent of Africa.
Given its recent success, it is hardly surprising that the airline has ambitious expansion plans
for the following years.
It is apparent that the airline has set high standards for itself with the construction
of the brand-new mega-aiport.
However, Ethiopian Airlines just completed a significant expansion project at its existing
base, Bole International Airport.
The project was completed only last year.
Currently, Ethiopian Airlines' principal hub is located at Bole International Airport in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
On January 27, 2019, a newly-expanded terminal opened, increasing the airport's capacity
from 7 million to 22 million passengers per year, more than tripling the previous capacity
of the facility..
Even with 22 million passengers per year, the airline is still significantly under capacity
when compared to the airline's projected passenger demand.
Tewolde Gebremariam, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, spoke with media about the project
and stated that: “Bole International Airport will not be able to handle us; we have a wonderful
expansion project underway."
However, given our current growth rate, the airport will be completely filled in around
three or four years," says the airport's general manager.
With a goal capacity of 100 million passengers per year, the Addis Ababa mega airport will
quickly surpass all other airports in Africa in terms of passenger traffic volume.
However, Ethiopian Airlines' new mega airport will still be dwarfed by Turkey's mega airport
in Istanbul, which has a planned capacity of 200 million passengers per year and is
expected to reach that level in the near future.
Ethiopian Airlines may be state-owned, and it may also be the most profitable airline
in Africa, but $5 billion is still a significant expenditure that will almost certainly necessitate
the involvement of outside investors.
China has emerged as the most important source of financing for large projects across Africa
in recent years, as the country makes significant investments on the continent.
The Export-Import Bank of China, a state-controlled institution that finances a wide range of
international projects, provided funding for the terminal extension project at Bole International
Airport, which was completed last year.
The financial details of the new mega-airport have not been disclosed, but considering the
way prior projects have been handled, it is probable that China would contribute at least
a portion of the cash for the project.
Despite repeated attempts, Simple Flying has not received a response from Ethiopian Airlines
regarding its new airport project.
According to the Ethiopian News Agency, the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines has announced plans
to develop a $5 billion airport south of the capital city of Addis Ababa.
Tewolde Gebremariam stated that the airport will be 35 square kilometers in size and would
be capable of handling 100 million people per year.
Ethiopian Airlines, a state-owned airline that is Africa's most profitable and largest
in terms of fleet size, is currently based at Bole International Airport in the Ethiopian
capital, Addis Ababa, and serves a number of destinations worldwide.
The addition of a second terminal at Bole International last year more than doubled
the airport's annual capacity to 22 million passengers.
The Exim Bank of China provided the funding for the project.
"Bole Airport will not be able to accommodate us," Tewolde stated emphatically.
"The airport appears to be quite spacious, but with the rate at which we are growing,
we will be completely filled in about three or four years," says the CEO.
His prior statements had stated that Bole International Airport should be able to handle
100 million travelers each year.
Construction on the new airport, which will be located in Bishoftu, a hamlet 39 kilometers
southeast of Addis Ababa, is slated to begin later this year.
There were no specifics offered about the finance or building of the airport.
According to Reuters, the airline had a net profit of $260 million in the 2018/19 fiscal
year, an increase from a net profit of $207.2 million the previous year.
It began offering four-times-weekly flights to Addis Ababa from Manchester in January
of this year.
Although it only has a fleet of 116 aircraft, it intends to compete with Middle Eastern
carriers such as Qatar Airways and Emirates, which operate multiple direct routes between
Asia and Africa.
Funding for a number of development projects in Addis Ababa has come from China, including
the African Union headquarters, the Adey Abeba Stadium, as well as a light railway system
and a ringroad.
The African Union headquarters is being built with Chinese assistance.
There is so much to consider when we look at this project is it really necessary?
Couldn’t the airline manage for a few years before taking this decision?
But at the same time the vision is great and if achieved will take the airline to greater
heights.
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
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