Five of the six prequalified international project management consultancy (PMC) firms are expected to submit their financial proposals for the airport city that will be built around Iran’s Imam Khomeini International airport (IKIA).

It is understood that representatives from Naco of the Netherlands, Brazil’s Progen, Italy’s One-works, Germany’s Obermeyer and Canada’s Zas Group met with the project’s owner, Iran’s Roads and Urban Development Ministry, between the last week of August and first week of September.

South Korea’s Heerim has refrained from participating in the tender.

The technical proposals from the five consultancies were expected to have been submitted on 12 September, while the financial offers will be submitted on 19 September.

The planned 140 million-square-metre Imam Khomeini Airport City (IKAC) will feature a free zone, cargo facilities and residential communities, and could take up to 30 years to complete.

The design for the airport city’s masterplan has been completed in 2012 by Tehran-based Rah Shahr International Group in partnership with Japan’s Nikken Sikkei.