The Cairo International Airport Terminal 4 project will almost double throughput at Egypt’s principal aviation gateway, with Civil Aviation Minister Sameh El Hefny confirming in early August 2026 that the new building will add 40 million annual passengers and carry total airport capacity to 70 million once complete. The minister told AGBI through comments published on the ministry website that the terminal will keep pace with anticipated travel growth and strengthen the airport’s ability to absorb additional airlines and passenger volume. Completion is set four years from the start of construction.

Cairo International Airport sits in Heliopolis in the northeast of the capital and currently operates three passenger terminals alongside a seasonal flight facility added in 2011. Combined designed capacity across those terminals has been put at roughly 28 million passengers a year, well below actual throughput in recent seasons. That gap is what Terminal 4 is intended to close. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority completed the enabling studies for the scheme, which was first floated publicly in 2019 and has been tracked since.

Cost is the figure that has moved most. Speaking at Sphinx International Airport in October 2025, El Hefny put the terminal at around US$3.5 billion, to be self financed through a partnership between the state owned Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation and several national entities rather than through sovereign borrowing. Some subsequent reporting has attached estimates closer to US$4.5 billion. A cargo city with an initial annual throughput of 1 million tonnes, expandable to 2 million, is planned in parallel, and the visual identity of Terminals 2, 3 and 4 will be unified.

Egypt Aviation Investment and How the Cairo Terminal 4 Cost Compares Across Africa

Terminal 4 lands in the middle of the largest wave of airport capital spending Africa has seen. Ethiopian Airlines broke ground in January 2026 on Bishoftu International Airport near Addis Ababa, a scheme carrying an ultimate price tag of roughly US$12.5 billion with a first phase sized at 60 million passengers and an eventual ceiling of 110 million. Bishoftu is a greenfield replacement hub designed by Zaha Hadid Architects with Dar Al Handasah, financed with 30 percent equity from the airline and a US$500 million anchor commitment from the African Development Bank. Cairo is doing something structurally different and considerably cheaper: bolting substantial new capacity onto an existing, already well connected airfield. Where Ethiopian Airlines is building a hub from nothing, Egypt is buying incremental capacity at roughly a quarter of the cost.

The commercial logic behind the spend is visible in Egypt’s tourism numbers. Tourism revenue rose nearly 15 percent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, and the tourism ministry reported visitor arrivals up almost 21 percent to close to 15 million in the first nine months of 2025. Government targets call for 60 percent growth in tourism investment across the current fiscal year. Aviation policy is moving in step. Egypt is working with the International Finance Corporation on introducing private management at 11 airports, with Hurghada International Airport serving as the pilot; 68 international companies and consortia collected qualification documents for that tender, and the ministry has insisted Egyptian airports remain sovereign assets, with private involvement confined to management and commercial operations.

Cairo International Airport Terminal 4 Timeline and What Comes Next

The critical open question is when construction actually starts. The four year build period quoted by the minister runs from commencement rather than from the announcement, and no groundbreaking date has been made public. Design and build arrangements have moved in stages: in September 2023 the Cairo Airport Company signed two memoranda of understanding with the United States technology firm Pangiam covering a Terminal 4 proposal and a feasibility study on converting the existing airport into a smart facility, with AECOM among the partners present at the signing. No main construction contractor has been publicly named.

Funding structure is the other variable worth watching. Financing the terminal off the balance sheets of the Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation and its subsidiaries avoids adding to Egypt’s external debt at a moment when the country is drawing on International Monetary Fund support, but it also ties delivery pace to the cash generation of state aviation entities. On completion, Egypt gains a facility sized to compete for Africa to Asia and Africa to Europe transfer traffic, a market where Cairo already fields 59 airlines serving routes from more than 120 origin airports.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project Name: Cairo International Airport Terminal 4
• Location: Cairo International Airport, Heliopolis, northeast Cairo, Egypt
• Project Value: At least US$3.5 billion, per Civil Aviation Minister Sameh El Hefny in October 2025; some subsequent reporting has cited estimates nearer US$4.5 billion
• Client and Owner: Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, through Cairo Airport Company
• Main Contractor: Not yet publicly awarded
• Added Capacity: 40 million passengers a year, taking total airport capacity to 70 million, per the minister in August 2026
• Key Components: Fourth passenger terminal, parallel cargo city with initial capacity of 1 million tonnes expandable to 2 million, unified visual identity across Terminals 2, 3 and 4, and smart airport systems
• Procurement Model: Self financed by the state airport holding company in partnership with national entities
• Construction Duration: Four years from commencement
• Strategic Impact: Positions Cairo as a transfer hub linking Africa, Asia and Europe, and relieves terminals currently operating at or above designed capacity

Project Team

• Client and Owner: Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation
• Operating Company: Cairo Airport Company
• Regulator and Policy Lead: Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority
• Design and Technology Partner: Pangiam, under memoranda of understanding signed in September 2023
• Main Contractor: Not yet awarded
• Advisory Partner on Airport Privatisation Programme: International Finance Corporation

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Cairo International Airport Terminal 4 cost? Egypt’s civil aviation minister put the terminal at a minimum of US$3.5 billion in October 2025, financed by the state owned Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation and its subsidiaries, though some later reporting has cited figures approaching US$4.5 billion.

When will Cairo International Airport Terminal 4 be completed? The minister has said construction will take four years, and completion therefore depends on a groundbreaking date that has not yet been made public.

How much capacity will Cairo International Airport Terminal 4 add? The terminal will add 40 million annual passengers and raise total airport capacity to 70 million, according to comments the minister published in August 2026.

Who is building Cairo International Airport Terminal 4? No main construction contractor has been publicly announced. Cairo Airport Company signed memoranda of understanding with the United States firm Pangiam in September 2023 covering design and a smart airport feasibility study.

Why is Egypt expanding Cairo International Airport? Rising tourism is the driver, with tourism revenue up nearly 15 percent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year and arrivals up almost 21 percent to close to 15 million in the first nine months of 2025.