The technical assistant of head of Dhi Qar provincial council, Abdul Hussein Hajar, revealed that the Defense Ministry approved the allocation of part of Al Imam Ali air base to build a civil airport, subject to the approval of the Transport Ministry.

The airport construction requires further legal and technical investigations in order to be implemented.

The airport construction committee of the Transport Ministry has visited the air base twice already and has run though all technical inspections to make sure the airport is suitable for civil use.

(Source: Al SumariaTV)

Duhok Province said that it sealed a contract with Lebanese Dar Al Handasah to build an international airport in the province with a cost of 5 million dollars.

The source said that it expects works to start at the end of next year.

Another source said that the airport will help in developing the economy, tourism and investment in the region.

(Source: Al SumariaTV)

(Source: Eye media company)

Judge Hassan Mahmood, Ninawa’s second deputy governor, discussed procedures for building a new airport in Sahajee district west of Mosul, with representatives of investment body, agriculture, real-estate, electricity and environment departments.

The judge ordered the agriculture department to work on breaking agriculture reclamation contracts, and on completing compulsory purchase orders, which are required to build the civilian airport, which will cover 3000 acres.

* Plans to boost capacity to 15 mln passengers per year
* Wants to build 3 new terminals at Baghdad

Iraq plans to double capacity at Baghdad International Airport to 15 million passengers per year, the head of the country’s civil aviation authority said on Tuesday.

After years of sanctions and war, Iraq plans billions of dollars of investment to rebuild and expand infrastructure and facilitate economic growth.

The government plans to add three new terminals at the airport, each capable of handling 2.5 million passengers per year each, said Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) Director General Adnin Blebil.

“We have to do it, we need more capacity,” Blebil said.

Iraq was hoping to generate interest from foreign investors in the plans, he said on the sidelines of an event in the emirate of Dubai. He declined to say how much investment the expansion would need.

Baghdad international airport currently manages around seven million passengers a year.

The war-damaged country hopes that a series of oil deals struck recently with international companies would help generate the cash it desperately needs to rebuild. But many of its ambitious plans fall short of sufficient funding and Iraq is trying to encourage foreign investments flow into the country.

The three terminals that already exist at Baghdad Airport would also be overhauled, Blebil said. Each existing terminal also has capacity to handle 2.5 million passengers per year.

The ICAA was also considering plans to increase capacity at the airport in the southern oil hub of Basra, and to build a new international airport in the north near Mosul, he added.

Iraq had announced plans for a new international airport that would be built between the three provinces of Kerbala, Najaf and Hilla, which are home to some of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest cities. Hundreds of thousands of Shi’ite pilgrims visit these cities every year. [ID:nL2349955]

( Al SumariaTV )

According to a report in Gulf News, the Iraqi government is approving master plans for airport investment around the country as it seeks to attract more airlines.

A vision for the expansion of Baghdad International Airport has been in place for the past five years, but the government has now approved the master plan, said Dr Adnan Blebil, director-general of the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority.

The plan doubles the size of the current airport and will add another three terminals, cargo centres, and free zone. A business park of one-and-a-half square kilometres will include conference and exhibition facilities, shopping malls, and hotels.

Connections to the existing rail and highway network just 1km away and an Aviation Academy are also afoot. The eventual expansion would create 70,000 jobs and, potentially, annual revenues of $2 billion.

“We’ve had interest from different groups over the years but nothing concrete yet. Anyone who is serious can start immediately. The airport is a very secure area surrounded by the military, ideal to invest in,” Blebil said.

Security is still on the minds of many potential investors. “We need investors with courage and money,” Blebil joked, adding that now is the right time to start investing as better security and an investment law are in place. The recent elections may have ended up in a hung parliament, but they managed to show that democracy is alive and well in the country which is headed in the right direction.

Annajaf International Airport Administration said that the airport has resumed receiving Arab and International aircraft. In fact, the airport received two airplanes from Bahrain transporting dozens of passengers.

The airport supervisor Sadek Al Labban said that the first airplane was from Gulf Airlines carrying 120 passengers and the second was from Bahrain Airlines with dozens of passengers.

( Al SumariaTV )

Minister of Transport Aamer Abduljabbar said on Thursday that Najaf airport will be partially opened in the coming 48 hours.

The Najaf council threatened last Monday (April 12) to declare civil disobedience and to close all the local departments if the central government refused to reopen Najaf’s international airport within 3 days.

Intelligence reports stated that there was a plot to use an airplane taking off from the Najaf International Airport to launch a terrorist operation in the style of 9/11 according to news reports.

( Aswat Al Iraq )

Al Najaf airport supervisor Sadek Al Labban said that the airport will stay closed until further notice while the current administration of the airport affiliated to Al Najaf local government refuses to give the right of management to Iraq Ministry of Transportation considering that it is an investment project.

Official authorities had closed Baghdad and Al Najaf airports for “technical reasons”, however, Baghdad airport was re-opened after hours while Al Najaf airport is still closed.

( Al SumariaTV )