"Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attended a launch ceremony in Abusera on Saturday, marking the start of construction on the country's groundbreaking new airport, a landmark project poised to become Africa's largest aviation hub. Footage shows Ahmed and senior officials being presented with the architectural plans for the airport, detailing its runways and terminal layout, while heavy machinery can be seen on site as work gets underway on the new project. "The airline is called the Pride of Ethiopia, not out of nothing, but by coming through natural and man-made challenges. It is also the pride of Africa. It is also our demonstration of the prosperity we are striving for," stated Ahmed at the ceremony. Mesfin Tasew, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, highlighted the ambitious scope of the project and the benefits it will bring to the continent. "The new Bishoftu International Airport is laid out on 3,809 hectares of land. When completed fully, the new airport has the capacity to hold up to 110 million passengers," he announced. The project, launched by Ethiopian Airlines, is expected to cost around $12.5 billion, will develop a 'mega international hub' and an 'Airport City' located about 40 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa. The new Bishoftu International Airport is set to quadruple the capacity of Ethiopia's current main gateway, Bole International Airport, with its first phase scheduled for completion in 2030."