Gulf Construction Online - $200m expansion for Bahrain airport

Regional News

$200m expansion for Bahrain airport

01 November 2003

Bahrain International Airport is to undergo a BD75.6 million ($200 million) expansion which will double its capacity and facilities within three to four years, it was revealed.

The projects will include a new satellite passenger terminal, additional air bridges, a multi-storey car park, shopping and leisure complex, as well as a new dedicated air cargo and logistics area, said Civil Aviation Affairs (CAA) undersecretary Captain Abdulrahman Al Gaoud.

The number of air bridges at Bahrain International Airport will be increased from seven to 15, and the check-in desks from 44 to 100, as part of the expansion, Capt Al Gaoud said.
The baggage handling capacity, which has been doubled from 1,500 to 3,000 pieces per hour, will double again to 6,000 when the expansion project is completed, he said.

The baggage delivery units will also double from five to 10. A new control tower, an upgraded second emergency runway and new airline lounges utilising the latest technologies are due for completion early next year, he said.

'All of these will continue to keep our airport as one of the most modern and state-of-the-art international airports in the Middle East,' he told the opening of MEED's first Middle East Airport Projects conference in Bahrain.

A two-day Middle East Airport Projects conference, recently organised at the Gulf International Convention and Exhibition Centre under the patronage of CAA, focused on the developments and services in the Gulf and Egypt.

The conference was addressed by 26 top speakers from the region and beyond, and covered the recent expansion projects and the development of airport services, technology and security.
An update of the Basra airport reconstruction scheme of Iraq was presented by the project manager Eyad Kadri.
Civil aviation officials from Dubai, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Ajman, Fujairah, Doha and Egypt spoke on airport developments in their areas. Security issues were discussed in a presentation by Bahrain CAA assistant under-secretary Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulaziz Al Khalifa.