The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $140-million loan for Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport development project.

The project, to be implemented within three to four years, was expected to increase the airport’s capacity to 18-million passengers a year, up from the current eight-million passengers a year, while the operations capacity would be expanded to 68 operations an hour.

As Egypt’s fastest-growing airport, and Africa’s third-busiest airport, Sharm El-Sheikh, in the Sinai Peninsula, had experienced average yearly traffic growth of 10% over the past decade.

In 2010, 8.2-million passengers made use of the airport – above its design capacity.

The AfDB board also approved a $1.9-million Middle Income Countries Technical Assistance Fund Grant to finance the project, which included the construction of a new terminal, runway and control tower within the confines of the airport.

The project would benefit Egypt’s economy, the Egyptian Airports Company, airline operators and private sector enterprises in the tourism and aviation and services industries.

Over the years, the Egyptian government’s development plans focused on transport infrastructure and the establishment of well-developed transport links and systems as a means to accelerate economic growth. This was in light of the country’s large geographical area, and its reliance on economic sectors such as tourism, agriculture, industry and services.

This was also aligned with the country’s Vision 2022, and its five-year macroeconomic policy framework. In March, the government launched the strategic development strategy, entitled Egypt’s Vision 2030.

The document cited tourism as a key strategic sector for investment, promoting growth of medium-term investment and large-scale infrastructure.

In March, a high-level Egyptian delegation led by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab visited the AfDB’s executive directors and management in Abidjan, and sought the bank’s support for the government’s ongoing economic reforms. It also asked the AfDB to boost its ambitious development and investment programme.

The bank’s contribution to the project represented 21% of the total estimated cost of $671-million, being cofinanced with the Islamic Development Bank and the Egypt government.

The Sharm El Sheikh airport dispatched regular flights to Cairo, Egypt’s capital, different European cities and the Middle East.

However, the airport’s main air traffic consisted of the season charter flights from Western and Eastern Europe, Scandinavian and Baltic countries, Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States countries.