Iraq's transport ministry has awarded Aeroports de Paris, a France-based airport operator, a $42.5m contract to work on plans for a new international airport in Baghdad, Reuters has reported. The new airport, which will be built between the three provinces of Kerbala, Najaf and Hilla, is scheduled to be ready within three to five years, with an initial capacity of five million passengers per year and eventual capacity of 35 million per year, the ministry said.