Kuwait’s Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) expects to tender the contract for a new runway at Kuwait International airport before the end of 2017.

The timing means the airport will have three A380-compatible runways when the new Terminal 2 opens in 2022.

“The tender is expected to be released before the end of 2017,” a source familiar with the project tells MEED.

In August, a joint venture of China’s Avic International Holding Corporation and the local Al-Dar (HOT) Engineering & Construction submitted the lowest bid of KD149.8m ($497.2m) for the construction of a new code 4F west runway, the extension of the existing east runway, a new air traffic control tower, parallel taxiways, access roads and other related facilities.

The contract is in the final stages of approval and will be awarded before the end of November, the source tells MEED.

The runways and most other airside facilities and projects at the airport are being handled by the DGCA, while the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) is responsible for the construction of Terminal 2 and most land-side facilities or areas of the airport accessible to the general public.

Designed by the UK’s Foster+Partners, Terminal 2 is the centrepiece of the redevelopment that will bring the airport’s annual capacity to 25 million passengers by 2022. It is under construction by a joint venture of Turkey’s Limak Holding and the local Kharafi National, which won the $4.3bn contract in May, following months of review and negotiations.

A temporary passenger support terminal is also under construction and is expected to be completed by 2017 or 2018.

Kuwait International has been operating beyond its capacity for years now. It processed more than 10.2 million passengers in 2015, which is more than twice its design capacity. The overall plan entails bringing the airport’s capacity to up to 50 million passengers a year by 2048.