Iran awards $2.7bn airport project to Chinese contractor

Iran has awarded a contract to a Chinese company to develop its largest international airport, according to a senior Transportation Ministry official.

Saeid Chalandari, who serves as CEO of Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA), said on Sunday that Iran will spend at least 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) to build a second phase at the airport under the contract signed with the unidentified Chinese company.

Chalandari said the company had been selected to carry out the project after intensive negotiations with several domestic and international contractors.

He said, however, that Iran will pay for the project using a barter mechanism that allows swapping crude oil for financial resources, equipment and technical services.

“The executive operation for the new terminal under the second phase development operation of the airport will probably begin until late September,” said the official while speaking to reporters in a news conference.

IKA is Iran’s largest airport and is located some 25 kilometers to the southwest of the capital Tehran. The airport offers services to 29 major international airlines with flights to 64 destinations around the world.

Iran has planned major expansion projects for IKA to turn it to a regional aviation hub although some of those projects have stalled in recent years mainly because of US sanctions on the country.

Chalandari said the Transportation Ministry had finished feasibility studies for the development of the second phase of IKA, adding that the project will be executed across 410,000 hectares of lands located to the south of the airport.

He said IKA’a new terminal will enjoy modern equipment and infrastructure and will operate independent of the airport’s current facilities.

ME