Six companies have submitted bids for the master-planning consultancy services contract for Bahrain International airport’s expansion.

The contract covers land use and concept infrastructure. Bids went in on 4 July.

US firm HOK has emerged as the lowest bidder for the contract, with a price of BD704,976 ($1,869,982 ).

The second-lowest bidder is French firm ADPI with a price of BD1,069,000. The third- and fourth-lowest bidders were Naco of the Netherlands and US firm Aecom, which submitted prices of BD1,336,000 and BD1,499,697 respectively.

Lebanese firm Dar al-Handasah submitted a bid of BD1,826,305, while the UK’s Mott MacDonald submitted a price of BD2,225,906.

The bids follow news in early June that five consultants had submitted bids for a contract covering project design and supervision consultancy services for the planned expansion and refurbishment of Bahrain International.

Bahrain airport authorities are eager to expand the facility to handle the increasing number of visitors to the airport. There was close to a 10 per cent increase in passenger numbers in 2012 compared with 2011. The airport recorded a total of 8,479,884 passengers last year.

Bahrain’s aviation sector has had a tough few years. During the regional political upheaval in 2011, the country’s airlines and airport had to contend with government restrictions on where passenger aircraft could fly.
 
This, in part, has led to the liquidation of the country’s private airline Bahrain Air earlier this year and the restructuring of national carrier Gulf Air.