Borg El Arab International Airport was planned to relieve pressure on El Nouzha Airport, which could not accommodate large aircraft due to the marshy terrain and obstacles from surrounding unauthorized buildings. In early 1998, the Civil Aviation Authority began exploring the establishment of a new international airport in the Borg El Arab area, west of Alexandria, on land previously belonging to the Borg El Arab Air Base. A total area of approximately 5.5 km by 2.5 km was allocated for the new civil airport. A consulting firm was commissioned to design the airport, and temporary facilities were initially constructed to serve as an interim international airport until the permanent airport could be completed. In June 2009, the government announced plans for a 390-acre (1.6 km²) urban expansion to the west of Alexandria, later referred to as New Alexandria. The project was planned to be connected to Borg El Arab International Airport by a ring road, with an estimated travel time of 25 minutes. The terminal 1 building was officially opened in 2010. Its inauguration, presided over during that year, included the completion of the airport’s new passenger terminal, making it operational for handling flights. At the time of its opening, Borg El Arab International Airport began serving as a modern aviation hub for Alexandria, accommodating both domestic and international air traffic. The building has a capacity to handle 1.2 million passengers per year, and was an adequate replacement to El Nouzha Airport. In January 2012, the Ministry of Civil Aviation closed El Nouzha Airport to air traffic and transferred its flights to Borg El Arab International Airport. In January 2015, the Saudi Binladin Group won the contract to develop the passenger terminal at El Nouzha Airport, after submitting the lowest financial bid of EGP 280 million and the best technical offer. Extensive renovations and upgrades were made, including improvements to buildings, installation of modern equipment, solar energy integration, and measures to manage groundwater accumulation on the low-lying site. The airport’s terminal had been upgraded to handle one million passengers annually, compared with its previous capacity of 300,000, in order to reduce congestion at Borg El Arab International Airport. Despite these investments, plans to reopen Nouzha Airport were ultimately deemed unfeasible, and its historical buildings have been preserved while the site’s future use remains under consideration. The Egyptian Holding Company for Airports announced plans in 2016 to construct a new terminal at the airport, with funding from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. On 1 January 2025, airline operations at the airport was moved from the old terminal to the new terminal, termed the first "green airport" terminal in Africa. The terminal covers 40,000 square meters and has an annual capacity of 4.8 million passengers, increasing the airport’s total capacity to 6 million. It incorporates solar energy generation, energy-efficient VRV air conditioning systems, and measures to reduce carbon emissions and optimize water and energy use. The transfer of airline operations was overseen by the Chairman of the Egyptian Airports Company. The roads surrounding Borg El Arab International Airport were upgraded in connection with the inauguration of terminal 2. The improvements included the development of the main access route linking Alexandria and the northern coast of Egypt to the airport via Abu Zikry Axis. The road, 35 meters wide, connects the Cairo–Alexandria desert road to the Sidi Kerir–Airport road. Works involved 22 culverts totaling 4,500 meters, extensive landscaping with 2,000 palm trees and 2,600 olive trees along the median and surrounding areas, as well as the cleaning of drainage systems.