The Ministry of Transport in Iraq has confirmed that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has presented three options for the development and rehabilitation of Baghdad International Airport. The IFC proposed developing and rehabilitating the airport as an investment opportunity for specialized international companies.
The ministry stated that the government is leaning towards merging the first and second options, which involve rehabilitating the current airport and building a new one. Plans are in place to refer the airport project to investment by the end of the year with the help of the IFC in selecting international companies to execute the project.
The General Company for Airports and Air Navigation Management is currently involved in rehabilitating the airport’s infrastructure with a focus on technical and economic feasibility. The goal is to accommodate an annual increase in passengers, which is currently at 15.7%, with plans to increase passenger numbers from 3.4 million in 2024 to even higher levels in coming years potentially leading to lifting European ban on Iraqi flights.
In addition, IFC plans include building a new passenger lounge to handle expected increase in air traffic until 2036, with capacity projected to reach 8.5-9 million passengers annually in future.
