The first packages of the planned Middle Euphrates International airport in Iraq could now be tendered by mid-2012 after the scheme suffered delays in 2011 due to a change in site selection. Initial tenders had been expected to be issued in early 2012.

The project is now back on track and the detailed design is complete.

The Middle Euphrates airport is being built between the cities of Karbala and Najaf. It will serve the millions of Shia pilgrims and tourists that visit the two cities each year due to the number of shrines and areas of religious significance in the region.

The new site is now closer to the main road between Karbala and Najaf. The area is about 100 kilometres southwest of Iraq’s capital Baghdad.

The airport will be developed in three phases. The first phase will have a capacity of 6 million passengers a year. Work will involve building two passenger terminals, one of which will serve normal traffic and the other specifically for pilgrims. Phase one will also involve the construction of a 4km runway, a 40-metre-high air traffic control tower and 29 aircraft stands.

The second phase will see the capacity increase to 12 million passengers and the third phase will boost capacity to 19.5 million passengers a year. Future plans also involve building a 50-hectare airport city at the entrance to the airport (MEED 18:5:10).

France’s Aeroports de Paris Ingenierie (Adpi) won the contract in 2009 to select the site for the airport development. Adpi also carried out the masterplan for the airport.