Turkish contractor Limak Insaat has signed a KD249.2m ($830m) syndicated credit agreement with the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) to partly finance the construction of a new passenger terminal, Terminal 2, at the Kuwait international airport.

Under the agreement, the two banks will each provide KD124.6m in financing, a statement by NBK said.

Kuwait’s Public Works Ministry (MPW) awarded Limak with the the KD1.3bn ($4.3bn) contract for the new terminal in 2016.

Limak also announced during the credit agreement signing ceremony with the two banks that it has commenced the construction of the airport’s superstructure including the commissioning of what it describes the region’s largest steel and concrete cassette factory, a precast arch factory, and 33 tower cranes with a lifting capacity of 100,000 tonnes.

Construction work on the terminal is expected to be completed by 2022.

Terminal 2 is expected to handle 25 million passengers a year upon completion and accommodate all aircraft types through 51 gates and stands.

MEED understands NBK is the mandated lead arranger for the credit transaction as well as the inter-creditor agent, security agent and account bank, while KFH is the mandated lead arranger and commodity murabahah investment agent.

KFH and NBK partnered to issue the required performance bond on behalf of Limak prior to the signing of the contract in 2016.

Other project updates include:

• Concrete foundations: 80 per cent complete
• Precast arch factory: ready for operation
• Steel and concrete Cassette Factory: commissioned and now the largest plant in the Middle East
• Baggage handling system, facade, roof covering lifts, escalators, and travelators: out to tender
• Lifting capacity: 100,000 tonnes with 33 tower cranes and 10 crawler cranes are installed and ready for mobilisation
• Construction of the superstructure has commenced
• Subcontractors: 25 per cent are local companies and over KD30m spent on national (Kuwait) products

NBK further said over 3,000 people are currently working on the project. This number is expected to increase to 12,000 by the third quarter of next year.