Egypt is in the midst of a drive costing $2 billion or more to revamp its old airports and build new ones as it anticipates millions more tourists in the next few years, The Middle East Times reported.
Many of the projects are prompting bids from foreign firms such as those that run the airports in Frankfurt, Zurich and Amsterdam, as well as engineering companies and consultants from Europe and Canada, the weekly said, noting that when the current program is completed, Egypt will have a network of 26 modern airports, including seven new ones.
Captain Magdi Maurice, who heads the airport sector at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was quoted by the paper as saying that some 5.5 million foreign tourists visited Egypt last year and 10 million were expected to visit in 2005.
Tourism, like the Suez Canal and oil exports, is a multi-billion-dollar a year mainstay of the economy, although it was hit badly in the 1990s when Islamic militants attacked tourists.
There has been no attack reported on foreigners since the Luxor massacre in November 1997 – Albawaba.com
