The General Directorate of Civil Aviation has postponed a KD47m ($164m) contract to build administrative buildings, car parks and two fire stations at Kuwait International Airport.

At this stage it is unclear whether the contract will be retendered and, if so, when.

The local Mohammed Abdulmohsin al-Kharafi & Sons General Trading & Contracting had been selected for the contract in January after beating rival bids from the local Alamiah Building Company and the local Combined Group Contracting Company (MEED 17:1:10).

The contract is one of several deals to expand facilities at the airport.

In early August 2009, contractors submitted bids for a contract comprising runway work, aircraft hangars and approach roads.

Kuwait’s Alghanim International General Trading & Contracting Company with Australia’s Gulf Leighton is the low bidder for the contract with a price of KD140m.

The aviation authority has also selected UK-based architect Foster & Partners to design a second passenger terminal at the airport (MEED 30:11:09).

The planned $747m terminal will have capacity for 13 million passengers a year, bringing the airport’s total capacity to almost 20 million passengers a year.

The airport’s current passenger capacity is 6 million. The terminal is due to open in November 2016.