Green and Climate Resilient Development of Planned Ethiopia Airport, to Be Africa’s Largest, Receives MCDF Grant Support

A USD2.1 million grant to promote the green and climate-resilient development of Bishoftu International Airport (BIA), a priority connectivity project 40 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa planned by the Government of Ethiopia and state-owned Ethiopian Airlines Group’s (EAG), was approved by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) Governing Committee during its meeting in Doha, Qatar on 27 September. The grant-supported project will be implemented by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The MCDF grant will support the application of international climate and environmental and social (E&S) standards in the BIA project, building on structuring and due diligence work that has already been completed. It is a key step for meeting AfDB and partners’ financing requirements to deliver what is expected to become Africa’s largest airport, relieving passenger and cargo traffic at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and reinforcing Ethiopia's position as an aviation and logistics hub in Africa.

The MCDF grant will facilitate the BIA project’s green investment planning and climate finance access. This includes the cost-conscious prioritization of green and climate-resilient investments that could boost BIA’s sustainability, refinement of emissions-reduction analysis for climate finance applications, development of the technical and financial case for mobilizing climate and concessional finance, and guidance on studies and documentation for mobilizing climate finance.

Efforts to ensure BIA’s runways, terminals, electrical, drainage, and water systems, and other infrastructure adhere to international E&S standards and green certifications will also be funded by the MCDF grant. Among them include the provision of development guidance on BIA's decarbonization pathway and Carbon Management Plan, and the prioritization and integration of climate-risk measures identified by the project’s existing assessments into an action plan for operationalizing them.

Knowledge-sharing and coordination workshops on findings and recommendations stemming from the other project-support activities under the MCDF grant will additionally be covered. The workshops’ core audience will be Government of Ethiopia officials, EAG staff, the BIA project’s engineering partner, and stakeholders.