UAE-based Am-Tech is expected to win the main contract for the construction of the passenger terminal building at the Imam Hussein International airport in Karbala, central Iraq.

The company has started piling works for the air traffic control (ATC) tower through a sub-contractor, Middle East Foundations Group, also of the UAE, in May.

It has also started conducting pile load tests for the passenger terminal, according to Nahidh Salih, chairman and director of the Middle East division of UK-based Copperchase, which is project managing the airport construction work on behalf of Iraq’s Transport Ministry.

It is understood the final award of the contract is expected within the next few weeks.

There has been a delay in the award of the remaining contracts for the project, including the contract for the ATC equipment and air navigation system, which is expected to be awarded to France’s Thales.

Packages under negotiation include airside works, which entail aprons, taxiways and a runway.

“Negotiations are… ongoing but we decided to delay the award as we received more recommendations and proposals,” Salih tells MEED.

Construction work on the initial phase of the airport is estimated to cost between $250m and $500m. Funds will be supplied by the finance arm of Iraq’s Imam Hussein Shrine Foundation.

The construction of the airport is expected to take between 18 to 24 months.