Addis Ababa, Aug 10 (IANS): Ethiopian Airlines, the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and Dar Al-Handasah, an international consulting firm, signed an agreement on Friday for the design and supervision of a new mega airport to be built near Bishoftu town, about 42 km east of the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

The new airport will have the capacity to handle 100 million passengers a year and provide parking for 270 aircraft, Mesfin Tasew, chief executive officer (CEO) of Ethiopian Airlines Group, said in a briefing, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The new four-runway airport will be Africa's biggest when the construction is completed in 2029," Tasew told reporters, highlighting that by undertaking a mega airport project, the airline is writing a new chapter in its aviation history.

The CEO said Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, currently the main hub for Africa's largest airline, will soon reach its capacity of serving 25 million passengers per year.

"The new mega airport is a five-year project that will be finalised in 2029. It will have two phases, and upon completion of the first phase with two runways, the airport will have the capacity to handle 60 million passengers a year," Tasew said.

According to him, phase one alone will cost the airline at least $6 billion, and the money will come from loans from companies that have already shown interest.

Ethiopian Airlines carried 17.1 million passengers in the 2023/2024 financial year and expects to carry 20 million passengers in the new financial year that starts on July 8, 2024.

The new airport, to be built on a total area of 35 square km, will include shopping and hotel facilities. Once the project design is completed, the construction of the mega airport will be put out to tender.