December deadline for Karbala Airport tenders
Middle Euphrates Airport to be built over three phases, Iraqi official says
- Iraq’s Ministry of Transport will put the Middle Euphrates Airport tenders out by next month.
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Iraq’s government will invite international tenders before the end of December this year for the Middle Euphrates Airport in Karbala, it was announced on Wednesday.
Dr Abbas Hassani, the head of the Construction and Strategic Planning Committee in the provincial council, told Zawya that the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation will invite offers for the project shortly.
“Aeroports de Paris Ingenierie (ADPi) has completed the design, which cost $42mn. The Iraqi Ministry of Transportation will invite offers next month,” he said.
The Middle Euphrates Airport will have the capacity to serve six million passengers annually in its first phase. A number of these passengers will be pilgrims who visit Karbala and Najaf every year. The project will include the construction terminal buildings, a runway and aircraft gates.
The airport is set to be developed in three phases. Passenger capacity will be increased to 12 million per year in phase II and 20 million once completed. The Karbala airport will be built over 45,000m2. It is expected to cost $3bn over its development cycle, Hassani said.
Iraq has undertaken an aggressive expansion of its transportation infrastructure as it looks to attract more investment into its economy.
A joint bid by the Baghdad based Fourth Dimension Company and the British firm Copperchase recently won a $125m contract to develop and expand the international airport at Najaf.
The country currently has four civilian airports, including one at Najaf. The largest is in Baghdad, with two others in Basra and Mosul.
