Egypt has announced plans to expand its Cairo airport centred on a new Terminal 4 that is expected to handle 40 million passengers a year and lift the airport’s total capacity to 70 million in a $4.2 billion project that positions Cairo for a sharper contest with Ethiopia’s planned Bishoftu International Airport.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reviewed the project on August 4 at the government headquarters in New Alamein City with Civil Aviation Minister Sameh El-Hefny, presidential financial adviser Ahmed El-Shazly, Cairo Airport Company chairperson Magdy Ishak and representatives of the engineering consultancy Dar Al-Handasah.
Madbouly called Terminal 4 a landmark project that will transform Egypt’s main international gateway, and El-Hefny described it as a flagship national investment that will boost transit traffic, attract airlines and support Egypt Vision 2030.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reviewed the plans again on August 31 and directed officials to meet the highest international standards for design, technology, sustainability, safety and security.
Cairo airport already handles more than 30 million passengers a year, and the government is optimistic that the new injection of investment will help the airport easily hit its target of 70 million passengers per year.
The state-owned Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation will finance the terminal, which will use artificial intelligence, digital systems and smart operations. El-Hefny has said construction will take about four years, although the government has not announced a groundbreaking date or awarded a main contractor.
Official cost estimates have varied, with the minister putting the bill at a minimum of $3.5 billion in 2025 and other accounts citing up to $4.5 billion. The government also wants more private-sector involvement in running its airports.
Egypt welcomed about 9 million visitors in the first half of 2026, roughly 4% more than a year earlier, and officials want Cairo to strengthen its role as a gateway linking Africa, Europe and Asia as tourism grows.
Ethiopia is pursuing the same transfer traffic on a larger scale, with Bishoftu International Airport, about 45 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, which broke ground in January with four runways, parking for 270 aircraft and a design capacity of 110 million passengers a year, about one and a half times the total Cairo is targeting.
The project costs $12.5 billion, with completion planned for 2030. Ethiopian Airlines holds the design contract and will fund 30% of the cost, while lenders will cover the rest, including a $500 million commitment from the African Development Bank. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said the current Addis Ababa airport will reach its limits within two to three years.
Both projects reflect a continent where air travel keeps growing while the global market weakens. The International Air Transport Association reported that African airlines carried 6.6% more passengers in May than a year earlier, the strongest growth of any region, and 3.8% more in June, when global demand fell 1.7%.
African carriers added 7% more capacity in June and filled 73.9% of their seats, well below the global average of 84.2%, which leaves room for airlines to grow their routes. The association forecasts that African traffic will expand by 3.6% a year through 2050, second only to Asia Pacific, with travel within Africa growing fastest at 4.9% a year.