The Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (Ehcaan) is planning to construct a new terminal at the Borg el-Arab airport in Alexandria.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (Jbic) will be funding the new terminal, which will have a design capacity of 4 million passengers annually, according to a local media report citing Ehcaan Chairman Ismail Aboulezz.

The budget for the terminal was not disclosed.

Once completed, the new terminal will bring the airport’s total capacity to 5.6 million passengers annually.

Borg el-Arab airport caters to international and domestic flights and is considered the main international entry point for Alexandria and the Nile Delta region. As well as serving passengers, the airport provides cargo handling facilities.

The airport has been undergoing a continuous upgrade to improve services since 2010.

Tourism contributes close to 13 per cent to Egypt’s economy. Expansion and upgrade of its airports are vital for the sector, has has been hit hard by recent aviation incidents including the crash of Egypt Air MS804 in May.

Only 9.3 million people visited Egypt in 2015, compared with 9.9 million in 2014 and 9.5 million in 2013.

Ever since the 2011 revolution, Egypt’s current account has suffered amid a sharp reduction in tourism income, which fell to $5.1bn in 2013/14 from $12.5bn in 2010.

In February, Egypt’s plan to expand the Sharm el-Sheikh airport was shelved due to  the economic undertainty that the country has been facing. The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) was set to finance nearly a quarter of the required $671m to expand the airport