The Egyptian Airports Company is inviting companies to submit prequalification documents for the construction of the terminal building at Sharm el-Sheikh International airport.

Egypt has applied for a loan from the African Development Bank to help towards the financing of the terminal.

The project involves the construction of a new terminal building that will be 206,000 square metres. It will also have 15 contact gates and 24 remote boarding gates. It will be located in front of the existing terminal building. The contract also covers the establishment of an automated baggage handling system.

Bids are expected to be invited in May.

Egypt is also renovating terminal two at Cairo International airport at a cost of $400m. The construction contract was won by Turkey’s Limak Investment in November 2011 (MEED 20:11:11).

The renovation of terminal two will involve upgrading the existing passenger terminal to handle up to 7.5 million passengers a year, more than double its current capacity of 3.5 million passengers a year. The project will also involve building a new departure hall and airside pier, as well as the construction of larger gates to accommodate Airbus A380 aircraft.