Bahrain Airport Company has selected France’s Aeroports de Paris Ingenierie (Adpi) to prepare the masterplan for the 30-year expansion of Bahrain International Airport, and expects to award the contract shortly.

Bahrain Airport Company has issued the French firm with a letter of intent, says Osama al-Ali, chief executive officer of Bahrain Airport Company.

Adpi will be responsible for the overall development plan of the airport, including two new passenger terminals and an airport city project that will last at least 30 years. The airport development plan will also involve construction of an air traffic control tower, cargo facilities, a royal flight terminal and road and rail links to the airport.

A total of six companies had originally bid to carry out the masterplan for the airport including US-based Hok, Dutch firm Naco, UK-based Mott MacDonald, the UK’s Jacobs Gibb and Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah (MEED 9:2:10).

Bahrain Airport Company is already carrying out a $4.7bn expansion of the airport.

Phase one will include the expansion of the existing passenger terminal, and the expansion of the passenger concourse. It will also include a multi-floor car park and the airport city, which is being built south of the existing terminal.

Contractors will be invited to bid for the construction contract for the expansion of the existing terminal in the third quarter 2010. The expansion will increase the airport’s capacity to 12 million passengers a year from the current four million.

Bahrain Airport Company has also received 39 prequalification documents for the design and supervision consultancy of two new terminals. Terminal 1A will be build alongside the existing terminal. It will have a capacity of 15 million passengers a year.

Another new terminal, terminal 1B will be built to replace the existing terminal once terminal 1A is completed. Bahrain Airport Company has not decided what the capacity of terminal 1B will be (MEED 26:1:10).

A rail link will connecting the two terminals is also planned.

Bahrain Airport Company hopes to award the design contract by November 2010, says Al-Ali.

The second terminal will have a capacity for an additional 15 million people a year.

In May 2009, US-based Hill International won a four-year contract to provide project management services for the development.