The Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (Ehcaan) is inviting companies to submit expressions of interest by 8 June for consultancy services for the planning of Cairo Airport City development next to Cairo International Airport.

The planning includes the preparation of a development strategy and masterplan, conducting a preliminary environmental assessment and developing an estimate of the project’s infrastructure costs.

The study also involves recommending contractual schemes for private financing of the airport city development.

The deal will be financed in part by a loan from the Washington-headquartered World Bank, according to Ehcaan. In March, the World Bank approved a $280m loan to help finance the renovation of terminal two at Cairo airport (MEED 7:3:10).

The winning consultant is expected to start the work in the third quarter of 2010, and is likely to take 12 months to complete.

Cairo Airport Company, which is a subsidiary of Ehcaan, is currently prequalifying firms for the construction contract on the $400m renovation of terminal two.

Companies are expected to be prequalified within the next two to three weeks, according to a source close to the project.

The renovated terminal will be able to handle 7.5 million passengers each year when it is finished in 2013, more than double its current capacity of three million passengers each year.