World Bank Funds Doubling Of Cairo Airport Capacity

Cairo International Airport long has been considered more of a hindrance than a help to Egypt's travel industry. Low capacity, underdeveloped facilities and constant renovations frustrated travelers and local businesses alike.

"It definitely needs to be built up into a first-world airport," said Malaka Hilton, an Egypt specialist with Florida's Admiral Travel International.

Help is on the way, courtesy of the World Bank, which last year approved a $335 million loan for airports in the area, much of which will go toward expanding Cairo International and removing a variety of obstacles that have prevented plans dating from the early 1990s to expand the two-terminal airport.

The money will buy a third terminal that will singlehandedly exceed the capacity of the two old terminals combined.

A construction consortium led by Turkey's Tepe-Akfen-Vie won a $348 million contract in 2004 to carry out the ambitious and project. Private money will fill the gap between the loan and the final cost.

The new terminal is expected to have a dramatic impact on the airport and travel to Egypt. It will have the capacity to handle up to 11 million passengers a year—quite a boost considering the two existing terminals provide a combined capacity of only 9 million. It will also reportedly be able to handle 15 arriving flights at the same time.

The project comprises the construction of a concourse, three skyways and a handful of other buildings over a total area of more than 538,000 square feet. It also includes the construction of a second cargo village, which airport officials expect will increase the freight capacity to 335,000 tons per year, up from its current yearly capacity of 200,000 tons.

The third terminal is not scheduled to be up and running until 2007, but the mere prospect of its completion already is having an impact on the region's travel industry.

Citing an expected boom in traffic thanks to the new terminal, the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation has teamed with EgyptAir subsidiaries to build a luxury hotel next door.

The five-star property, construction of which was announced just a few months after the 2004 unveiling of the airport project, will boast more than 400 rooms. Part of its funding comes from the World Bank loan as well. Conditions at the already strained 40-year-old facility may be further disrupted in the interim. International flights will be temporarily diverted exclusively to Terminal 1; Terminal 2 will handle all domestic flights.

In order to smooth the transition, the former will receive a minor refurbishment, but doubts remain as to whether it will be enough to buffer the inconvenience. The two terminals are about two miles apart, but are linked by a free shuttle service. New roads are being built to help ease congestion for transferring passengers.

"As often as I've been going back and forth to Egypt, it seems like Cairo International is constantly under construction," said Hilton, adding that the facilities leave more to be desired than the traffic situation.

Conveniences for business travelers are present, though not necessarily at the level to which more high-end passengers may be accustomed. A single business center located in Terminal 1 offers fax, computer and phone services. The nearby Novotel Cairo Airport Hotel is recommended for larger meeting facilities.

A $12 million renovation in 2003 brought in more shopping, lounge and café options. A number of first- and business-class lounges are available, each of which adheres to a national theme, including British, American, French and Arabic.

A new 1960s-style café now offers views of the runway, and improved duty-free shops recently have opened as well.

Ultimately, as Hilton put it, "When people make a decision to go to Egypt, they could care less about the condition of the airport."

What they may care about, however, is constant reports of terrorists eager to discourage outsiders from traveling to the region.

As recently as May 2, The New York Times reported that a small band of terrorists was arrested after carrying out attacks that specifically targeted tourists. Two women on May 1 opened fire on a bus of Israeli tourists in Cairo, just two hours after police arrested a man suspected of an April 7 bombing at the city's main bazaar.

Egyptian officials were quick to offer assurances that these attacks were not a resurgence of more well-coordinated anti-tourist attacks in the late '90s. Hilton believes media attention makes the situation sound worse than it is.

"Cairo certainly carries a lot more tourists than any other Middle Eastern country," she pointed out. "When you're here, you feel safe. You can't let the media's focus on these things discourage you, and I think most people don't."