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Washington — President Trump on Wednesday unveiled his plans for an overhaul and expansion of Dulles International Airport outside Washington, saying in an Oval Office event the nation’s capital should have an airport in which citizens can take pride.
The president detailed the plans, complete with a model on the Resolute Desk, to renovate and expand the aging airport’s footprint. The airport will add or renovate more than 5 million square feet of space, replace the current “C” and “D” concourses, add a 32,000-space parking garage closer to the airport, and add a central walking tunnel, he said. It will also remove the “people movers,” a polarizing system of mobile lounges that Dulles has long used to ferry travelers around, and add an air train.
“Really, it’s an impossible airport,” the president said of Dulles. “You get off a bus, you go into a train, from the train you get onto another bus. It’s the worst airport. This plan also includes expanded options for parking, modern check-in areas, more efficient security screening, hotels, etcetera, etcetera.”
A number of new restaurants and shops will be added, in addition to a massive United Polaris lounge, he added.
“For years, the United States has watched other major cities around the globe welcome travelers with grand and modern airports, yet, the last major airport built in the United States was Denver in 1995,” the president said. “And it hasn’t gotten very great reviews. That’s more than 30 years ago, so we’re doing something with Dulles that’s going to make it I think the top, maybe the top, anywhere in the world.”
Mr. Trump has taken a personal interest in mega-construction projects in and around the nation’s capital. For the Dulles renovation, he asked the design and engineering firms competing for the contract to create three-dimensional models so he could personally view their proposals at the White House, CBS News reported this week.
The president said Wednesday his administration reviewed 30 proposals to come to this decision.
The White House posted renderings of the plans. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the president was intimately involved in casting the vision and shaping the design.
Asked how the massive undertaking would be paid for, Duffy said the project will be bonded for $22.5 billion, and United Airlines — which has a hub at Dulles — and other airlines will be paying for it.
Mr. Trump said the plan is “largely financed,” although it will probably need some approvals from Congress.
“It really is bipartisan,” Mr. Trump said.
“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 added.