Kuwait’s Public Works Ministry (MPW) has awarded contracts worth an estimated KD18.58m ($59.4m) for construction works related to Terminal 2 at Kuwait International airport.

According local media reports, the first contract covers the design and expansion of the runway adjacent to the terminal, while the rest cover construction works and the maintenance of roads and other facilities.

Construction works on Terminal 2 are expected to be completed by 2022.

Turkey-based Limak Insaat is implementing the $4.3bn contract for Terminal 2, which is expected to handle 25 million passengers a year upon completion and accommodate all aircraft types through 51 gates and stands.

In May, Limak  signed a KD249.2m ($830m) syndicated credit agreement with the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Kuwait Finance House (KFH) to partly finance the project.

MEED reported that Limak is currently evaluating the bids for the airport’s baggage handling system (BHS).

Last month, the MPW prequalified 22 groups for the contract to develop the second phase of the Kuwait International airport expansion. This phase is understood to cover the construction of passenger services buildings and roads that connect to Terminal 2.

Another new terminal at Kuwait International, Terminal 4, is expected to enter operations in August.

Initially designed as a temporary passenger support building, the terminal can handle up to 4.5 million passengers a year. It is expected to cater exclusively to Kuwait Airways.

The $174.5m contract for Terminal 4 was awarded in 2016 to a team of Turkey-based Cengiz Insaat and local firm First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Company.

Kuwait International airport handled 13.7 million passengers in 2017, an increase of 17 per cent compared with 2016, and nearly three times the capacity of its existing main terminal.