{"id":7786,"date":"2026-07-30T23:09:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T23:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project"},"modified":"2026-08-01T01:56:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T01:56:44","slug":"us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project","title":{"rendered":"US Firms Join Ethiopia Mega Airport Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>A senior official at a local source stated that the United States is seeking to involve its companies in the Bishoftu Airport project, which is operated by Ethiopian Airlines and has a cost of $12.5 billion. This effort comes amid competition between Washington and China, as well as other powers, for influence in infrastructure and investment in Africa.<\/p>\n

Construction of the airport, which will feature four runways and is located approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa, began in January. Officials aim to make it the “Dubai of Africa” upon its completion in 2030.<\/p>\n

Mark Mitchell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Middle East and Africa, indicated that Washington is “closely engaged in efforts to ensure U.S. participation” in the Bishoftu project.<\/p>\n

Mitchell made these remarks during a virtual press conference held on the sidelines of the Africa Logistics and Communications Forum in Addis Ababa, where he mentioned that he had meetings with officials from Ethiopian Airlines.<\/p>\n

While Mitchell did not specify the role that American companies could play in the project, he noted that it could lead to “an increase in the number of Boeing aircraft equipped with General Electric Aerospace engines.”<\/p>\n

Ethiopian Airlines had agreed in April to purchase six additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, in addition to 20 aircraft previously ordered. The African Development Bank has pledged $500 million for the project and is leading efforts to raise $8.7 billion.<\/p>\n

The CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mesfin Tasew, stated in April that American financial institutions had shown “interest” in participating in the project.<\/p>\n

Mitchell also mentioned that the Department of Commerce is seeking to strengthen ties with the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute as part of the U.S. efforts to enhance its AI technology exports.<\/p>\n

In related news, a local news agency reported that Ethiopian Airlines’ state-owned revenues for the fiscal year 2025\/2026 increased by 20% compared to the same period last year, reaching $9.1 billion.<\/p>\n

The airline, which is the largest in Africa, announced that the number of passengers rose by 10% to 20.7 million during its fiscal year ending July 7. Additionally, cargo shipments increased by 16% year-on-year, totaling 897,000 metric tons.<\/p>\n

Ethiopian Airlines, which operates over 150 aircraft, announced in April that it would purchase six additional Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to expand its long-haul services.<\/p>\n

In June, the company stated it would make a decision within three months regarding an order to purchase 25 smaller commercial aircraft to expand its domestic network.<\/p>\n

The airline added nine aircraft to its fleet during the year, according to the news agency, and it also expanded its facilities at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.<\/p>\n

The state-owned company did not disclose profit figures, but the news agency noted that financial performance was affected by flight cancellations due to conflict in the Middle East and the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n

These American moves come as Washington seeks to increase the presence of its companies in the transportation, aviation, energy, telecommunications, and minerals sectors within Africa, in the face of China’s extensive economic influence and that of other international powers.<\/p>\n

The Bishoftu project represents one of the largest investment opportunities available in the African aviation sector, making it a focal point for companies and financial institutions seeking contracts in construction, technology, finance, and logistics services.<\/p>\n

Mitchell also announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce aims to build closer relationships with the Ethiopian Institute of Artificial Intelligence, as part of Washington’s efforts to expand exports from American companies operating in technology and artificial intelligence to the Ethiopian market.<\/p>\n

The participation of American companies in the project could strengthen trade ties between Washington and Addis Ababa and provide the United States with a foothold in one of the largest ongoing infrastructure projects in Africa.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. A senior official at a local source stated that the United States is seeking to involve its companies in the Bishoftu Airport project, which is operated by Ethiopian Airlines and has a cost of $12.5 billion. This effort comes amid competition between Washington and China, as well as other powers, for influence in infrastructure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":7785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-7786","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nUS Firms Join Ethiopia Mega Airport Project - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A senior official at a local source stated that the United States is seeking to involve its companies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Firms Join Ethiopia Mega Airport Project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A senior official at a local source stated that the United States is seeking to involve its companies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Africa Press English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-30T23:09:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-01T01:56:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/08\/sm_1785548849.973391.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"613\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"US Firms Join Ethiopia Mega Airport Project\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-30T23:09:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-01T01:56:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project\"},\"wordCount\":633,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/08\/sm_1785548849.973391.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/economy\/us-firms-join-ethiopia-mega-airport-project\",\"name\":\"US Firms Join Ethiopia Mega Airport Project - 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