Ethiopia has commenced construction on a $12.7 billion international airport in Bishoftu, southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, which its Prime Minister states will become Africa's biggest airport upon completion.

• The airport is projected to handle up to 110 million passengers annually at full capacity and the construction is expected to take five years.
• The project is partly financed by Ethiopian Airlines and involves funding from the African Development Bank ($500 million initially), with talks ongoing with other major financial institutions.
• The new facility will be connected to Addis Ababa by a multi-lane motorway and a 38-kilometre high-speed railway, with 2,500 farmers already displaced and rehoused at a cost of $350 million.