On Monday, Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq, accompanied by top air transport aides and the Egyptian media, visited Borg Al-Arab scheduled to open next week. "In civil aviation, this airport promises to provide the local population as well as foreign tourists and businessmen with a first-class facility in terms of safety, convenience and the volume of passengers and cargo it is designed to deal with," Shafiq said. 

The new terminal adds 1.2 million passengers a year to the airport which can be expanded to 1.8 million annually, taking its total capacity to 5.1 million.

With a cargo handling capacity of 10,000 tonnes, Borg Al-Arab promises to serve the growing demand of agricultural and industrial development in Alexandria and the neighbouring Delta governorates.

The upgraded project involves the construction of a terminal over an area of 24,000 square metres. The LE628 million terminal includes shopping areas, a food court, travel offices and other travel services. Fourteen tarmacs have been constructed, two of which are allocated for freight business.

The terminal has four tubes to serve aircraft on both departure and arrival. A baggage system capable of handling 950 bags per hour will help make the airport an international facility.

Alexandria Governor Adel Labib said Borg Al-Arab Airport will help plans to establish a new community at New Alexandria City, located west of the old city and covering 389 feddans. The ring road, 30 minutes away, will link the new city to the new airport. Labib said the number of air passengers visiting Alexandria is expected to hit one million by 2014.

Borg Al-Arab the area includes petrochemical industries, metal refining and agriculture.

Shafiq said a new control tower had been constructed which will serve air navigation through Alexandria's two airports: the old Al-Nozha and Borg Al-Arab.

The new facility contains a fuel unit, a rescue and fire station covering 800 square metres, a sewage treatment plant, taxiways and aprons for 10 aircraft stands and a car park.

Borg Al-Arab airport basically served as a military airport for the northern coast. Ten years ago, and due to busy air traffic at Cairo International Airport, Alexandria acted as a substitute for the capital, and the need to replace the old Al-Nozha Airport with a new one was vital to help civil aviation in the country.

The growing demand for regional and international airlines to operate from Alexandria encouraged aviation authorities to push expansion plans at Borg Al-Arab which was upgraded with a Japanese loan worth $55 million, in addition to LE35 million provided by Egyptian banks.

Twenty-four airlines currently operate from Borg Al-Arab's old facility. The number is expected to increase to 32 airlines after the soft opening of the new facility.

Al-Ahram Weekly