Bahrain signs consultancy deal for new Greenfield airport project

TDT | Manama                                                          

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain has named a consultancy to study the possibilities of replacing the Bahrain International Airport with a new Greenfield airport. According to the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, the plan is to replace BIA when it can no longer effectively handle the airport infrastructure needs of Bahrain.

Reportedly, Netherlands Airport Consultants, a Hague-based airport consultancy and engineering firm, had won the contract to study the possibilities of constructing a new Greenfield airport, which would cost $10 billion.

The multidisciplinary study would focus on formulating a public policy, development strategy, technical, economic, financial and regulatory analysis, and evaluation. NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants), part of Royal HaskoningDHV, is a world-leading airport consultancy and engineering firm with over 70 years of experience working in aviation and air transport industry – from landmark designs to smaller regional airports.

In November last year, The Daily Tribune reported that the Tender board had four bids for the new Greenfield Airport project. Accordingly, bidding companies were Dar Al Handash Consultants (Shair & Partners) (BHD 1,584,314.000), ADP Ingenierie -Foreign Branch (BHD 1,153,383.000), Netherlands Airport Consultants (BHD 611,380.000) and Hill International (BHD 843,150.000).

Hill International’s bid got suspended. At that time, the Ministry had also said that the project would have far-reaching implications - “not only for the most strategic sectors in Bahrain, but also for the overall economy”.

The tender was for naming a lead consultant to manage and coordinate the work of various specialist sub consultants and act as MTT’s principal advisor. Latest reports says the Ministry had awarded the contract for BD541,900 and that the airport will be on a reclaimed island north of Muharraq, where the current BIA stands.

Established in 1927, BIA is the region’s oldest international airport. It has recently undergone a $1.1 billion expansion and was launched on the 28th of January 2021, boosting its capacity to 14 million passengers annually.

The new terminal features 104 check-in counters to process arrivals, 24 self-check-in kiosks and 44 immigration counters. Further developments are also ongoing around BIA. In June of last year, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and managing body of the airport, laid the foundation stone for a 25,000 sqm Express Cargo Village north of the airport’s runway.

The Cargo Village consists of warehouses, aprons, and infrastructure capable of handling the expected growth in air freight and e-commerce. BAC had also signed a 10-year agreement with FedEx Express, a global logistics giant, allocating 9,000 square meters to it for operating a 5,000 square meters warehouse and a 4,000 square meters open area, which will be handed over in the third quarter of 2023.