Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says it hopes to have the award letter for the construction of the new runway ready before the start of Ramadan in August.

Once the award letter is complete, it must be sent to the Audit Bureau for approval, which will take about 15 days. This means the contract will be awarded after Ramadan, says Mahdy al-Dakheel, director of the projects department for Kuwait International airport at the DGCA. Al-Dakheel was speaking at MEED’s Arabian World Construction Summit on 25 May.

The contract involves building the third runway, which will be 4,580 metres long, as well as rehabilitating and extending the existing eastern runway, which will be lengthened to 4,000 metres from 3,500 metres.

In April, the Central Tenders Committee prequalified 14 companies for the runway package (MEED 3:4:11).

The DGCA also expects to award the consultancy contract for Package 4b of Kuwait Cargo City this year. Unlike Package 4a, the consultant for 4b will be a local company. The firm will then find its own international partner to help execute the project.

Package 4b covers the construction of government administration buildings, including a customer care centre and inspection and examination facilities.

First Kuwaiti General Trading Contracting Company won the contract for Package 4a in July 2010. This involves building an apron to accommodate up to 67 wide-body aircraft, access roads, parking for 700 trucks, streets and associated infrastructure.