Denver International Airport is preparing another major investment in its main terminal, advancing plans for a North Terminal Expansion as a separate $1.3 billion renovation of the existing Jeppesen Terminal approaches completion.
The airport has selected Mile High Delivery Partners, a joint venture between AtkinsRéalis USA and H.J. Russell & Company, to provide program management services for the expansion under a 10-year contract worth up to $135 million. The partners announced their selection on November 4, 2026.
The appointment establishes the team responsible for coordinating the expansion’s development and delivery. However, the $135 million agreement covers program management, not construction of the expanded terminal. Denver has not yet publicly established the project’s overall construction budget.
The expansion forms part of the airport’s Vision 100 strategy, which aims to prepare DEN for 100 million annual passengers. Its longer-term Operation 2045 plan targets capacity for more than 120 million passengers annually.
Denver Plans Further Terminal Capacity as Passenger Numbers Grow
The need for additional terminal infrastructure reflects the scale of growth at Denver International Airport.
Jeppesen Terminal was originally designed to accommodate approximately 50 million passengers annually. DEN handled more than 82 million passengers in 2024, substantially exceeding that original design capacity.
The airport is therefore planning additional facilities to accommodate growing demand and improve passenger movement through its main terminal.
The North Terminal Expansion includes additional ticketing facilities, security checkpoints, international baggage-claim areas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facilities and airline office space. The plans also include connections to future east and west concourses.
These improvements are intended to increase passenger-processing capacity while strengthening the airport’s ability to handle international arrivals.
North Terminal Expansion Follows $1.3B Great Hall Investment
The North Terminal Expansion is a separate project from the ongoing Great Hall Completion program, which is modernizing Jeppesen Terminal.
Denver’s $1.3 billion Great Hall Completion project includes improvements to ticketing areas, security screening, passenger circulation and terminal infrastructure. The airport expects the work to finish by the end of 2027, with facilities opening in stages as construction progresses.
The two investments address different stages of the airport’s capacity requirements. The Great Hall project upgrades existing terminal facilities, while the North Terminal Expansion is intended to provide additional space and processing capacity for future growth.
Their overlapping development periods also create a major coordination challenge. Denver must advance the new expansion while completing existing terminal work and maintaining operations at one of the country’s busiest airports.
Construction Budget and Delivery Schedule Remain Unclear
Despite appointing its program manager, Denver has not publicly disclosed the North Terminal Expansion’s overall construction cost.
An airport presentation to Colorado lawmakers in September 2025 listed the project’s budget and construction timeline as undetermined. It anticipated preparations for designer and construction contractor procurement during 2026, with selections expected in 2027.
The airport’s subsequent capital-improvement planning places the North Terminal Expansion within its 2028–2031 investment phase. However, that planning window does not establish a confirmed construction start date or provide a project-specific capital budget.
The distinction is important because the $135 million program-management contract represents only one part of the development’s anticipated spending. The eventual cost will depend on the final design, construction scope, procurement strategy and supporting infrastructure requirements.
The airport will also need to coordinate the expansion with other major investments in its terminal, baggage-handling and passenger-transit systems.
Expansion Joins Wider Airport Infrastructure Investment
The North Terminal Expansion is one component of Denver International Airport’s broader infrastructure modernization program.
In August 2026, Denver City Council approved three airport contracts totaling approximately $248 million. These included the agreement worth up to $135 million for North Terminal Expansion program management, an $83.3 million contract for the Individual Carrier System baggage network and a $30 million contract for the automated guideway transit system.
The baggage-system investment is intended to improve the infrastructure used to move and screen passenger luggage, while the transit-system work addresses the trains connecting the terminal with the airport’s concourses.
Together, these investments reflect the airport’s need to expand passenger capacity while modernizing systems that support its existing operations.
DEN’s longer-term capital program extends through 2035 and includes terminal improvements, concourse development, baggage modernization, transit upgrades and other airport infrastructure projects. The airport has identified cash, grants and debt proceeds among its capital funding sources.
Mile High Delivery Partners to Coordinate Next Development Stages
Mile High Delivery Partners brings together AtkinsRéalis USA and H.J. Russell & Company to oversee the North Terminal Expansion program.
The joint venture will coordinate planning and delivery activities, including project controls, schedule and cost management, risk mitigation, quality assurance and coordination among the airport’s project stakeholders.
Denver City Council approved the $135 million, 10-year agreement in August 2026. The November 4 announcement confirms the selection of the joint venture to advance the program.
The next major milestones include development of the terminal design, procurement and selection of the separate design and construction teams, confirmation of the delivery schedule and establishment of an overall project budget.
For Denver, the expansion represents another step toward accommodating a much larger passenger base. But with the construction cost and detailed schedule still to be established, the airport’s next challenge will be turning its long-term capacity ambitions into a defined and funded construction program.
Denver International Airport’s North Terminal Expansion is part of a wider wave of investment in major U.S. airports, as operators work to increase capacity and modernize aging infrastructure. A similar effort is underway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where Atlanta City Council has approved $36.84 million for the next phase of fire- and life-safety improvements on Concourse B, advancing a broader terminal upgrade program with a contract ceiling of approximately $108.84 million.
Denver International Airport North Terminal Expansion: Factsheet
- Location: Denver, Colorado
- Owner: City and County of Denver, Department of Aviation
- Program-management joint venture: Mile High Delivery Partners
- Joint venture partners: AtkinsRéalis USA and H.J. Russell & Company
- Program-management contract: Up to $135 million
- Contract duration: 10 years
- Planned scope: Expanded ticketing, security checkpoints, international baggage claim, customs processing facilities, airline offices and connections to future concourses
- Capital-plan period: 2028–2031
- Overall construction budget: Not publicly established
- Related terminal investment: $1.3 billion Great Hall Completion project
- Great Hall completion target: End of 2027
- Airport capacity target: 100 million annual passengers under Vision 100 and more than 120 million by 2045 under Operation 2045
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