Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has inaugurated the new terminal at Bahir Dar’s Dejazmach Belay Zeleke International Airport, in the Amhara region. Described as a major milestone for one of the country’s key aviation gateways, the facility is now Ethiopia’s second largest airport terminal after Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
In a message posted on social media, Abiy presented the project as far more than a modernised piece of infrastructure. He called it a testament to resilience, recovery and continued investment in the future, a reference to the recent hardships the city has faced. The previous terminal had in fact been damaged during the conflict that affected the Amhara region, and its reconstruction was framed by the government as turning a challenge into an achievement.
The new terminal is expected to significantly boost the airport’s passenger capacity and modernise its surrounding infrastructure. The project includes upgraded aircraft facilities, improved access roads and amenities designed to meet the region’s growing demand. According to the Prime Minister, the terminal, together with Bahir Dar’s ongoing urban transformation, positions the city as an increasingly important hub for both domestic and international flights.
Located on the shores of Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest lake and the source of the Blue Nile, Bahir Dar is both a major economic centre and one of the country’s leading tourist destinations. The city serves as a gateway to several landmark sites in the Amhara region, including the Blue Nile Falls and the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Lalibela and the Simien Mountains.
At the ceremony, the Prime Minister also pointed to other major projects underway in the city, including an industrial park, intra city road corridors, iconic bridges, ongoing transport corridor development and a stadium under construction. He further praised judicial reforms carried out by the Amhara Regional Supreme Court, including the rollout of virtual courtroom systems.
Abiy nonetheless tempered the announcement by stressing that infrastructure modernisation alone cannot deliver its full impact without sustainable resource management and regional stability. He pointed in particular to Bahir Dar’s weak municipal revenue, noting the city currently ranks only seventh among Ethiopian cities on that measure, a constraint on future infrastructure upkeep and development.
The inauguration fits into a broader push to expand Ethiopia’s aviation sector. The country has also begun construction of a mega airport at Bishoftu, roughly 40 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, estimated at more than 12 billion dollars and eventually meant to replace Bole for international flights, with a targeted capacity of 110 million passengers a year. Other regional terminals, such as Kombolcha in the Wollo area, have also been recently upgraded, reflecting Ethiopian Airlines and the government’s push to build a network of airports spread across the country rather than concentrating traffic in the capital alone.