A massive airport being built in East Africa is set to become the continent’s biggest in a major boost for travellers. The Bishoftu International Airport (BIA) is a vast transport infrastructure project underway near the town of Bishoftu, Ethiopia, some 25 miles from the capital, Addis Ababa.

The project was launched partly to alleviate pressure on the nearby Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, which has already been expanded, whilst markedly enhancing its tourism opportunities. State-owned Ethiopian Airlines won the contract to design it and is responsible for around 30% of the funding.

The rest is being provided by international lenders. The plan is for the new travel hub to be built in phases. The initial goal is for it to accommodate 60 million passengers per year by 2030. That alone would put BIA well ahead of its rivals on the continent in terms of annual passenger capacity.

OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, is often described among Africa’s biggest airports, handling some 28 million passengers per year.

Cairo International Airport (CAI) is also among the biggest and busiest on the continent, with around 26million passengers per year.

The African Development Bank (AfDB), a major lender involved in the project, said the aim is “ultimately scaling up to 110 million at full development in later phases”. The plan is for it to eventually have four runways.

The official groundbreaking ceremony took place on January 10 marking the beginning of construction. Reporting on the event at the time, Reuters said the project was initially set to cost $10 billion in total (around £7.4billion), but the estimate at that time was reportedly $12.5billion (around £9.1bn).

Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority suggested it could be as much as $12.7billion (£9.2bn) at the time.

The flight hub will also be connected via a 38 km (23.6-mile) railway to both the capital and Bole International Airport, Railway Gazette reports.

In addition to the runways and terminals, the works may eventually include the development of hotels, shopping malls, as well as commercial complex buildings, previous reports have suggested.

The first phase planned to be completed by the end of the decade, with construction set to begin in earnest from August 2026.