Washington, July 30 (IANS) President Donald Trump has unveiled plans for a sweeping redevelopment of Washington Dulles International Airport, promising to transform what he called one of America’s worst-rated airports into one of the world’s best through a multi-billion-dollar overhaul financed without federal funding.
Joined by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) officials and United Airlines executives at the White House on Wednesday (local time), Trump said the project would replace the ageing C and D concourses while preserving the airport’s iconic main terminal designed by architect Eero Saarinen.
“This is all about the Dulles Airport remodelling,” Trump said. “We’re going to make it maybe the best, with some hard work and some good thought process.”
Calling Dulles “the primary international gateway to our nation’s capital”, Trump argued that the airport no longer reflects the status of Washington or the United States. He noted that last year’s J.D. Power rankings placed Dulles 23rd out of 27 large airports nationwide.
After reviewing more than 30 architectural proposals, the administration settled on a plan that Trump said would add more than five million square feet of new or renovated space.
“We’ll replace the current C and D concourses, which are basic disasters, all the while preserving the iconic original terminal,” he said.
The redevelopment includes a new central passenger spine, expanded parking, upgraded security screening areas, new shops and restaurants, additional hotel facilities and an enlarged AirTrain system to improve passenger movement across the airport.
Trump also announced plans for what he described as the world’s largest parking garage, providing about 32,000 spaces and linked to the terminal through enclosed glass walkways.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the redesign would eliminate the airport’s much-criticised mobile lounges, often referred to as “people movers”.
“We are going to get rid of the people movers,” Duffy said. “We are going to have a horseshoe train system throughout the airport.”
He credited Trump with shaping the final concept after reviewing competing architectural proposals.
“We are blessed that not only does he give us time to really important matters, but he gave his building skill to take the best of all the designs and come up with this concept,” Duffy said.
MWAA President and CEO Jack Potter said the project would move ahead without taxpayer funding.
“This is not requiring federal dollars; this is going to be airport-generated dollars, airline contributions,” Potter said, adding that the authority’s goal was to minimise disruption to passengers during construction.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, whose airline operates its largest East Coast hub at Dulles, welcomed the announcement.
“The terminal that’s out there today was built 45 years ago; it was meant to be temporary,” Kirby said. “I’ve spent my whole career at United Airlines waiting for this day.”
He said the project would produce “the best airport in the world” and create an arrival experience that “really represents what the United States of America stands for.”
Trump criticised previous long-term redevelopment plans, saying they would have stretched construction over decades.
“One of the things that is interesting, they were going to build this over a 60-year-period,” he said. “We’re doing it all at one time; it’ll all be completed, and it’ll be beautiful, and it’ll be something very special.”
Duffy later told reporters the project is expected to be financed through about $22.5 billion in airport-backed bonds and airline participation, with construction expected to begin next spring, subject to permitting.
The redevelopment forms part of a broader push by the Trump administration to modernise the country’s ageing aviation infrastructure. During the event, Trump also highlighted ongoing efforts to replace outdated air traffic control systems and towers across the United States, saying improved technology would enhance aviation safety.
Washington Dulles International Airport, which opened in 1962 in northern Virginia, serves as one of the principal international gateways to the US capital and is a major hub for United Airlines. The Saarinen-designed main terminal remains one of the country’s most recognised airport buildings and has long been protected as an architectural landmark.
–IANS
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