By Mohamed Attia
Egyptian airports nationwide are currently witnessing a remarkable development in infrastructure through executing upgrade projects, within the framework of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s strategy under the leadership of Minister Mohamed Abbas.
The Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN), headed by Eng. Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, and the Egyptian Airports Company, chaired by Pilot Ahmed Mansour Ali, are working to achieve a breakthrough in the services provided to passengers, with the aim of increasing the number of tourists visiting Egypt to 30 million per Annum. Minister Abbas stressed the importance of reaching 30 million tourists and attracting more air and tourist traffic to Egyptian tourist destinations through incentive programmes, which boost the national economy and keep pace with the Egypt Vision 2030 for achieving comprehensive development goals. Egypt has been playing an important role as a hub of transportation and trade in the Middle East and North Africa region. It achieved rapid growth of civil aviation sector recently with economic recovery. Minister Abbas stressed the importance of sustaining the development process, raising the efficiency of airports, increasing their capacity, and improving the quality of services offered to travelers and tourists. The minister said that the Sphinx International Airport, located near the Giza Pyramids, was put into operation after its comprehensive development. He added that the airport’s capacity has increased to 1.2 million passengers annually, serving the residents of Greater Cairo districts of 6 October and Sheikh Zayed, as well as the governorates of Fayoum and BeniSuef. Minister Abbas said that the Borg el-Arab International airport is currently under development, through constructing the first eco-friendly building in co-operation with Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).The Borg el-Arab airports slated to open next June. Meanwhile, the Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport was also developed, in conjunction with the climate change summit, which was held last November in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with an increase in its capacity to reach 10 million passengers annually. The development plan also includes various airports across the country, particularly Hurghada and St. Catherine airports, the minister said. The security system at Egyptian airports has been modernised according to the latest international standards, air navigation systems have been developed, and the Egyptian National Centre for Airspace Management has been established to develop the airspace, provide navigational services, and enhance air safety. The minister said that Bernice airport is ready for operation in the event that any airline company requests to operate from it. El-Alamein International Airport, which has a capacity of 300 passengers per hour, received many private planes last August, and is ready for operation, according to the minister of civil aviation.
Meanwhile, EHCAAN chairman Eng. Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, said that his company has drawn up an overall plan to rationalise energy use by implementing a package of intensive measures in line with the state’s plan to save energy.
Mahrous said all Ministry of Civil Aviation subsidiaries have taken strict measures to reduce the consumption of electric energy and water.
The head of EHCAAN noted that the rationalisation plan includes the company’s subsidiaries through purchasing energy saving devices and replacing the current lighting system with LED lighting as well as maintaining air-conditioning devices to ensure efficient work in all subsidiaries.
The Cairo International Airport is witnessing a new boom during the current period in all aspects, according to Board Chairman of the Cairo Airport Company, Magdy Ishaq.
Ishaq confirmed that the development work at the Cairo airport came in light of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s plan to develop the services and to show the civilized and aesthetic appearance of the airport to tourists from different countries of the world.
Cairo International Airport witnessed the start of the trial operation of the electric treadmill last November in preparation for the official opening soon. This came within the framework of Minister Abbas directives to provide all facilities to streamline the movement of passengers between the three passenger buildings and prevent overcrowding at Cairo International Airport.
The electric treadmill project, which connects Terminal 2 and the multi-storey garage, contributes to facilitating the movement of passengers and parking, and avoiding any congestion inside Cairo airport.
The engineering designs of the electric treadmill project included a covered walkway with a length of 310 metres, a bridge with a length of 65metres and a width of 7 and a half metres. It also included two collection areas, the first at the multi-storey garage, and the second at the terminal building 2, in addition to five service areas distributed along the length of the walkway.
The HUB area includes commercial and service spaces, cafeterias, and toilets, internet service and fire systems.
As for the multi-storey garage project, which is one of the development schemes at Cairo Airport, Ishaq confirmed that it has a capacity of more than 2,500 cars, with a ground area of 18,000 square metres, containing five floors, and ten elevators operating at full capacity.
The Cairo International Airport obtained the Public Health and Safety Readiness accreditation certificate presented by the Airports Council International (ACI) for three years, to become the first airport in Africa to receive this international accreditation.
The Cairo airport authorities said this certificate is the culmination of their efforts to strengthen health and safety standards and support the airport operators.
This certificate shows the readiness of Egyptian airports to apply the highest standards of health and safety after reviewing and evaluating all travel and arrival procedures, as well as ensuring that they are committed to the ACI recommendations and the instructions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
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