Kuwait plans USD6b airport expansion 

(MENAFN) Kuwait plans to expand its international airport's capacity following the steps of its neighbors Qatar and the UAE, Bloomberg reported.

The project is part of Kuwait's USD111 billion four-year development plan announced in February 2010 to build a subway and rail network, expand airport capacity and construct power stations, hospitals, roads and a port.

Kuwait Civil Aviation President Fawaz Abdul-Aziz Al- Farah said that the government will spend USD6 billion to almost double Kuwait International Airport's passenger capacity by the end of 2016.

Al-Farah added that work on the expansion plan will debut this year, including the addition of a terminal and revamping existing infrastructure to increase passenger handling to 13 million.

The airport, which is built to handle 7 million passengers a year, received 8.5 million visitors last year, and is expected to exceed 9 million this year, Al-Farah said.

Kuwait International Airport's capacity may be expanded to 25 million passengers by 2025 and 50 million visitors by 2035, he added.