US-China rivalry takes flight over scramble for contracts at Ethiopia’s Bishoftu airport

Ethiopia’s new US$12.5 billion mega-airport project has thrust the nation into the heart of a geopolitical tug of war between the United States and China.

Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, is developing the massive Bishoftu International Airport, located 40km (25 miles) southeast of the capital Addis Ababa to serve as a primary hub for African trade and travel.

The project has triggered intense competition between would-be contractors from around the world, but Chinese state-owned enterprises and joint ventures make up roughly half the shortlisted bidders.

These include major players such as the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Road and Bridge Corporation, reinforcing Beijing’s dominance in Ethiopia’s infrastructure sector.

Although major American construction firms missed out on the civil works shortlist, the White House is positioning companies such as Boeing and GE to compete for future technology and equipment contracts.

Washington is “closely engaged in pushing to secure strong United States participation”, Mark Mitchell, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for the Middle East and Africa, told the media last month at last month’s Africa Logistics and Communications Symposium in Ethiopia.