Egypt's new Sphinx International Airport (SPX) on the outskirts of the capital Cairo is set to start service next summer, civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy announced on Saturday.

Fathy said the airport, which has been built west of Cairo on the 45th km on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road in Giza governorate, is set to receive flights next summer season.

At a cost of EGP 300 million, SPX is being constructed by the Egyptian Consultancy Company to reduce pressure on Cairo International Airport, which is located on the eastern outskirts of the capital.

The new airport has been dubbed as the “300 passengers airport” due to its accommodation capacity per hour.

In previous press statements, Fathy said that the airport has “strategic goals,” with a plan for expanding to cargo services in the future.

Fathy has said that the airport will serve tourists aiming to stop in the country to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) and the Great Pyramids of Giza.

The GEM is set for a soft opening in the spring of 2018.

The ministry is building another airport, Katameya International Airport, north of Cairo to serve visitors heading to New Cairo and the under-construction new administrative capital.