WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today announced a new initiative to explore the revitalization of Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).
The Secretary is inviting proposals and public-private partnership plans from the best and brightest developers, architects, and engineers to construct completely new terminals and concourses at IAD. These structures would replace or build on the existing main terminal and satellite concourses at IAD.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re making DC safe and beautiful. Violent crime and homelessness are down, while our green spaces are cleaner and Union Station is looking better than ever,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “But why stop there? “Tourists, world leaders, and CEOs from around the world should not be forced to travel through an inefficient airport when they visit D.C. IAD needs a complete refresh to assume its proper role as the premier international gateway into the capital of the greatest country in the world. We’re engaging the private sector to explore how we can do this cost effectively and at the speed of Trump.”
The Need for a Revitalized International Gateway:
Washington Dulles International Airport is known for its dated facilities, inefficient system of people movers that deliver passengers as much as a half mile away from their gates, its moon-rover-like “mobile lounges,” jet fuel smell in the concourses, and a paltry number of gates at the main terminal. USDOT supports the development of a new world-class airport to replace or build on the existing facility.
While the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) has plans for updates to the facility, they are insufficient to meet the need for a beautiful gateway to our Nation’s capital. For example, they retain the mobile lounges for the next 15 to 20 years at a cost of $160 million. Just last month, one of these mobile lounges crashed – injuring 18 individuals.
Next Steps:
The Department submitted a Request for Information (RFI) for assistance in approaching the design, financing, and construction of a new terminal and concourses to replace or build on the existing terminal and concourses at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Once USDOT receives proposals under the RFI, USDOT will share them with MWAA and work closely with the airport authority to implement improved designs and transform Washington Dulles International Airport into a world class facility.
Additional Information:
On August 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 14344, Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again , to update the policies guiding federal architecture so that America’s public buildings inspire the American people and encourage civic virtue, and so that architects designing federal buildings serve the American people.
Consistent with that E.O., the President and the Secretary are inviting industry experts to submit information, including design, finance, and construction concepts, for a new international gateway airport for the National Capital Region.
The Department holds IAD’s property title. In 1987, the Secretary of Transportation and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) executed a lease for Reagan National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport and the surrounding properties. In April 2024, USDOT signed a lease extension to 2100. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 authorized the lease in order to transfer operating responsibility for Reagan National and Dulles Airport to MWAA, a public body created by an interstate compact between the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Congress granted MWAA broad control over the airport, giving it authority “to acquire, maintain, improve, operate, protect, and promote the Metropolitan Washington Airports for public purposes.”