The board overseeing Dulles International Airport will vote Wednesday, Aug. 19, on a $15.5 billion budget amendment that would push the total price tag for the airport's overhaul to nearly $20 billion, funded almost entirely by bonds that airlines and passengers will repay over three decades.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, headquartered at 2000 Edmund Halley Drive on Reston's Dulles Toll Road corridor, plans to finance the work with approximately $14.2 billion in new bond issuances, $1.1 billion in passenger facility charges and $150 million in grants, according to the MWAA board packet posted ahead of the meeting.

The authority's board had previously authorized about $4.4 billion for work already underway. If approved, the amendment brings total authorized spending across five construction packages to $19.9 billion.

As we reported July 30, the White House announced a broader $22.5 billion overhaul concept on July 29 that also included a hotel, parking garage, restaurants and shops not covered in this budget amendment.

Five packages, staggered over 15 years

The board packet breaks the work into five named packages:

• Package A ($6.2 billion): Main terminal renovation and expansion, extending it 300 feet east and west, plus Concourse A/B renovation. Contract award targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, construction start in the fourth quarter of 2027.
• Package T ($3.75 billion): Extension of the AeroTrain people mover west from Concourse A/B to planned Concourses G/H, plus a central tunnel for passengers and baggage. Construction start in the first quarter of 2029.
• Package C ($4 billion): Concourse E/F full buildout. Phase 1 is already under construction and scheduled for substantial completion in September 2026.
• Package D ($3.7 billion): Concourse G/H full buildout. Phases 1 and 2 construction starts in the first quarter of 2028; later phases not until 2039.
• Package B ($2.26 billion): Demolition of the aging Concourse C/D and construction of a new 33-gate regional concourse. Demolition begins in the first quarter of 2031; the new concourse won't start construction until 2039.

All timelines are described as preliminary in the board packet.

Who pays

MWAA President and CEO Jack Potter said at the July 29 White House event that the project would not require federal dollars. "This is going to be airport-generated dollars, airline contributions, which is phenomenal," Potter said at the event.

United Airlines, which holds roughly 68.5% of Dulles passenger traffic, is the dominant carrier at the airport. The airlines formally signed off on the spending: majority-in-interest approval from Dulles' long-term signatory airlines took effect July 2.

An analysis by aviation finance writer Gary Leff estimates that at MWAA's own assumed 6.09% fixed rate over 30 years, approximately $15.35 billion in total bond-backed debt (including PFC-supported bonds) would generate about $935 million in first-year interest alone, exceeding MWAA's entire $889 million 2026 operating budget for both Dulles and Reagan National combined. Leff projects the airline cost per passenger could rise from $12.77 today to between $62 and $90.

The bonds are senior claims on net revenues of both Dulles and Reagan National airports, meaning both facilities stand behind the debt.

What's next

The Finance Committee meets virtually at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, with the full board expected at 10:30 a.m. Both sessions are open to public viewing. The amendment authorizes $48 million in spending during 2026 to begin design and early construction on Packages T, C and D.