Kuwait has a total of seven airports, four of which have paved runways. The country is planning to invest US$698.5 million in redevelopment of Kuwait International Airport (KIA). The country further aims to increase annual capacity of the airport to 20 m passengers. The redevelopment will focus on improving airport buildings, fire stations, rescue centres and service roads.
Construction of a second terminal – built to south of the existing terminal – is expected to be completed by September 2016. Built with an investment of KD900 m (US$ 3.3 bn), the terminal will initially have an annual passenger handling capacity of 13m, with plans to increase this to 25 m and 50 m through further development.
At the end of the overall US$ 6 bn expansion project, the airport will have eight gates, construction of fours of which was completed in September 2012. It is hoped that this project will help make the airport a regional hub for the Gulf peninsula.
Increasing levels of air traffic in Kuwait have resulted in a seven percent rise in number of travelers using Kuwait International Airport. New airports are planned near Harir City and new Boubyan Island port, while the contracts are said to be worth a total of KD11 m (US$ 39 m).
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