LONDON: Britain’s foreign minister David Lammy said he had spoken to his Israeli and Iranian counterparts in separate calls on Sunday seeking to avoid escalation into a “catastrophic” regional war after Israel struck Iranian military sites.
“Today I held important calls with Israeli FM (Israel Katz) and Iranian FM (Abbas Araghchi). The UK continues to press for de-escalation and an end to the conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza,” Lammy said in a statement after a Israeli air attack early on Saturday against Iranian targets.
“A regional war would be catastrophic and is in no one’s interests,” he said.
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Britain foreign minister seeks to avoid ‘catastrophic’ escalation in calls with Israel and Iran
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Britain foreign minister seeks to avoid ‘catastrophic’ escalation in calls with Israel and Iran
Ethiopia begins $12.5 billion construction of ‘Africa’s biggest airport’
BISHOFTU: Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday officially started a $12.5 billion construction project for what officials say will be Africa’s biggest airport when completed in 2030 in the Ethiopian town of Bishoftu.
The state-owned airline got the contract to design the four-runway airport in the town located around 45 km (28 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.
“Bishoftu International Airport will be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa’s history,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said on X. The airport will have space to park 270 planes and capacity for 110 million passengers a year.
That is more than four times the capacity of Ethiopia’s current main airport, which will reach its limits on existing traffic in the next two-to-three years, Abiy said.
The airline’s Infrastructure Development & Planning Director Abraham Tesfaye told reporters it would fund 30 percent and lenders would finance the rest.
It has already allocated $610 million for earthworks, which are due to be completed in one year, he said at the site, with the main contractors scheduled to start work in August 2026.
The project was initially billed at $10 billion.
Other creditors include the African Development Bank, which last August said it would lend $500 million and lead efforts to raise $8.7 billion.
“Lenders from Middle East, Europe, China and USA have shown strong interest to finance the project,” Abraham said.
Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s biggest carrier. It added six extra routes in 2024/25, while revenues are also expanding.
The state-owned airline got the contract to design the four-runway airport in the town located around 45 km (28 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.
“Bishoftu International Airport will be the largest aviation infrastructure project in Africa’s history,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said on X. The airport will have space to park 270 planes and capacity for 110 million passengers a year.
That is more than four times the capacity of Ethiopia’s current main airport, which will reach its limits on existing traffic in the next two-to-three years, Abiy said.
The airline’s Infrastructure Development & Planning Director Abraham Tesfaye told reporters it would fund 30 percent and lenders would finance the rest.
It has already allocated $610 million for earthworks, which are due to be completed in one year, he said at the site, with the main contractors scheduled to start work in August 2026.
The project was initially billed at $10 billion.
Other creditors include the African Development Bank, which last August said it would lend $500 million and lead efforts to raise $8.7 billion.
“Lenders from Middle East, Europe, China and USA have shown strong interest to finance the project,” Abraham said.
Ethiopian Airlines is Africa’s biggest carrier. It added six extra routes in 2024/25, while revenues are also expanding.
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