Board overseeing Dulles Airport approves $15.5B for Trump renovation

The board that oversees Dulles International Airport on Wednesday approved a $15.5 billion budget to fund President Donald Trump‘s massive proposed renovation of the airport.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors voted to approve the proposal, which includes $3.75 billion ​to build new underground tunnels and replace the airport’s long-criticized shuttles, dubbed “people movers,” that transport passengers across the tarmac.

“We look forward to the construction,” Jack Potter, the airport authority’s CEO, said at the meeting. “We look forward to continued growth at Dulles Airport, and we think we have a very bright future.”

The vote comes after Trump announced in July a more than $20 billion plan to remake Dulles, including building new terminals, as part of his broader campaign to remake the Washington region.

At a White House briefing last month, Trump said the project would add more than 5 million square feet of new or renovated space, including by completely replacing Concourses C and D, “all while preserving the iconic original terminal.”

He said the overhaul was needed because Dulles was in such bad shape. “Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, you don’t want to go and be subjected to this airport because this airport is a terrible place to be,” he said.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement after the airport authority’s vote that the renovation project will “ensure that the gateway to our nation’s capital properly reflects American Greatness to inspire foreign visitors and American citizens alike.”

Opened in 1962, Dulles is about 25 miles from downtown Washington and served more than 29 million passengers last year, a record, according to the airport authority.

Projects outlined in Wednesday’s proposal will also be funded by $4.4 billion already authorized by the MWAA board, bringing the estimated total cost for the projects listed in the proposal to $19.9 billion.

The plan will be largely funded through municipal bonds.

The proposal approved Wednesday does not include plans for a new parking garage. An MWAA spokesperson said that element would be addressed in the future.

The $6.2 billion planned reconstruction of the main terminal is set to begin in late 2027, according to the project summary.

Construction on tunnels to replace the people movers is expected to begin in early 2029, the summary said. That project is expected to be completed in 2034, Keith Autry, MWAA’s vice president for engineering, said at the Wednesday board meeting.

Some concourse construction isn’t expected to begin until 2039.

Liam Scott is a reporter on the Metro desk covering transportation and breaking news.