A consortium which includes Kuwait's Noor Financial Investment plans to invest $680 million to refurbish and operate Amman's Queen Alia airport, Noor said on Thursday.

The consortium, which includes French airport operator Aeroports de Paris and Abu Dhabi Investment Company, won the 25-year concession in April. The new development will lift annual passenger capacity to 9 million from 3 million.

The consortium has arranged a $370 million loan from regional and international banks, Noor said in the statement on the Kuwait bourse Web site.

Kuwait's Noor will have a 24 percent share in the new company, it said. -Reuters