diff --git a/src/runtime-rs/Makefile b/src/runtime-rs/Makefile
index 61668f7c6..ea31c7371 100644
--- a/src/runtime-rs/Makefile
+++ b/src/runtime-rs/Makefile
@@ -182,6 +182,10 @@ DEFBINDMOUNTS := []
 DEFDANCONF := /run/kata-containers/dans
 DEFFORCEGUESTPULL := false
 QEMUTDXQUOTEGENERATIONSERVICESOCKETPORT := 4050
+
+# Create Container Timeout in seconds
+DEFCREATECONTAINERTIMEOUT ?= 30
+
 SED = sed
 CLI_DIR = cmd
 SHIMV2 = containerd-shim-kata-v2
@@ -512,6 +516,7 @@ USER_VARS += KATA_INSTALL_CFG_PERMS
 USER_VARS += DEFDANCONF
 USER_VARS += DEFFORCEGUESTPULL
 USER_VARS += QEMUTDXQUOTEGENERATIONSERVICESOCKETPORT
+USER_VARS += DEFCREATECONTAINERTIMEOUT
 
 SOURCES := \
   $(shell find . 2>&1 | grep -E '.*\.rs$$') \