A slice of Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley, with volcanic rocks, native trees, streams and grass, will run through Africa’s planned largest airport, alongside a dedicated high-speed rail station and a futuristic garden terminal that evokes the spacecraft in Morten Tyldum’s Passengers.
Ethiopia is staking $12.5 billion on an airport that could redraw Africa’s aviation map and turn Addis Ababa into a global crossroads.
At its heart will rise the Central Beacon, a tower-like structure with a 60-metre interior atrium that its designers say will be the tallest in any airport worldwide.
The landmark will anchor Bishoftu International Airport, a vast new Ethiopian Airlines gateway led by DAR and designed by Zaha Hadid Architects to handle tens of millions of travellers each year.
Italian architecture and design magazine Domus revealed fresh details of the project on July 21, 2026, after speaking with Zaha Hadid Architects.
