Contracts worth US$1.1bn have been awarded for the construction of a brand new terminal at Bahrain International Airport, which, on completion in 2019, will be able to handle nearly 14mn passengers
These include five agreements signed as part of the airport modernisation programme (AMP) on the sidelines of Bahrain International Air Show (BIAS) 2016 at Sakhir Airbase, reported Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Bahrain?s minister of transportation and telecommunications, said that the project for the construction of the new passenger terminal building, the main services building and aircraft bay has been awarded to a joint venture between UAE builder Arabtec and TAV Construction from Turkey.
?We aim to complete the project in 2019, and are expecting a three-fold increase in direct flights and numbers of airline using the new passenger terminal building as a result,? he added.
Meanwhile, the contract for the passenger airbridges has been awarded to Chinese group CIMC, while the deal for the baggage handling system was won by Dutch specialist Vanderlande, stated the minister in a joint press conference with Mohammed AlBinfalah, CEO of Bahrain Airport Company.
The other key awards include the contract with US-based L3 Communications for supply of security screening equipment and Finnish group Kone for its horizontal and vertical transfer systems, he added.
The Bahrain government also signed a contract with France?s Setec for the design of a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility which, when built, will contribute to massive job creation for Bahrainis, according to the report.
On the AMP, Mohammed added that it was one of the most important strategic projects for the country, as the airport serves all economic sectors and is a gateway for Bahrain to the rest of the world.
