Bahrain is planning to build a general aviation terminal that will supplement the new passenger terminal building that is currently being built at Bahrain International airport.

“We are in final stages of planning for a general aviation terminal. We did not announce it. We are developing the concept now to see the viability of it and then we will go to the next stage,” Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed told MEED.

The general aviation terminal will be used by private jets.

Construction work started on the $1.1bn new terminal building at Bahrain International airport last year after a contract was awarded to a team of the UAE’s Arabtec Construction and Turkey’s TAV in January 2016.

Other packages have been awarded this year. They include the information and communications technology package that was secured by France’s Thales and Geneva-headquartered Sita, and contract for the construction of a fuel farm and connecting pipelines that was awarded to the UAE’s Amana.

More construction work will be tendered this year.

In February, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) received prequalification documents for the infrastructure and construction packages of the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) at the airport.

Once completed the new facility is expected to play an important role in developing Bahrain’s aviation sector. “The [MRO facility] will create jobs in Bahrain because this will enable Gulf Air to do C checks [major service required every 20-24 months] that now are being done outside Bahrain and that will require technicians and engineers,” says Mohammed. “With the MRO [facility] we are creating a lot of space in North Apron from other companies to set up MROs and this will create jobs for Bahrain and it will affect the GDP for this sector in Bahrain.”