Kuwait airport expansion deal set to be signed

Kuwait is set to sign a deal on Thursday for a redevelopment of its international airport that will almost double its passenger capacity.

Dr Fadhel Safar, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs, is due to ink the agreement for the expansion plans which include new terminal buildings designed to cope with up to 13 million travellers per year.
Currently, Kuwait International Airport is at full capacity and sees about seven million passengers using its facilities, KUNA News Agency reported.


The agreement on Thursday is part of a longer-term plan to increase capacity to up to 20 million passengers.

In January, the chief of Kuwait's Department of Civil Aviation, Fawaz al Farah, said redevelopment work would see the airport double its passenger capacity size over the next two years.
The decision to increase passenger capacity comes after Kuwait has seen an increase in traffic throughout 2009.
In the year, it saw a 26 percent increase in the number of passengers passing through its terminals, spiking in September as travellers took advantage of the Eid Al Fitr holidays.
This increase in passenger traffic saw the revenues earned by the airport shoot up to an estimated $62.89 million.