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Ethiopian Airlines became the fifth air carrier in 2019 in terms of countries served, according to the Ecofin news agency. REUTERS / Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The battle for the sky is underway in East Africa, faced with competition from Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, elected in 2019 the best African airline, wants to strengthen its airport structures. The CEO of the company has just announced the construction this year of a new airport about fifty kilometers from the capital, Addis Ababa.

In full expansion, Ethiopian Airlines wants to build its mega-airport. The company will begin work this year on a new platform near the city of Bishoftu, about fifty kilometers from Addis Ababa, the capital.

Covering an area of ​​35 square kilometers, roughly that of the French Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport, the new hub will eventually be able to accommodate one hundred million passengers per year, compared with 22 for the current Bole airport. .

A five billion dollar project

Although a new terminal has just opened in Bole, Ethiopian Airlines estimates that this airport will be saturated within four to five years. Hence the need to anticipate the future. Because the company is growing faster than expected. Ahead of its objectives, it already serves 127 destinations in 81 countries and has 120 aircraft.

Ethiopian Airlines became the fifth air carrier in 2019 in terms of countries served, according to the Ecofin news agency. Still, if the company makes a profit of $ 180 million in 2018/19, it has not indicated how it intends to finance the construction of its new airport: a project with a total cost of five billion dollars.