Enabling works on the $1.1-billion Airport Modernisation Programme (AMP) of Bahrain International Airport are progressing rapidly and are scheduled to be completed by the end of April.

In addition, bids are being evaluated for the final package of the programme, said Derek Hendry, the director development for Bahrain Airport Company, in an interview with Gulf Construction.

He added that tender evaluation for the information communication technology (ICT) contract – the last of the tenders to be awarded on the modernisation programme - will start on Sunday.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the Bahrain International Airport Development Forum held at Movenpick Hotel in Bahrain from April 13-14.

Work on the main works package of Phase One and long-lead packages had also started, he added. A new fire station, fuelling facilities and a security gate are currently under construction, Hendry stated. These are scheduled for completion mid-summer this year.

The Airport Modernisation Programme involves the construction of a new 207,000-sq-m terminal with all modern facilities and will raise the annual capacity of Bahrain International Airport to 13.5 million passengers.

Hendry said the new terminal was aiming for Leed Gold certification. That will make it just the second airport in the region after Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah to have won the global rating.

He said the new terminal had already met 75 per cent targets in areas of energy usage, energy vision development, water usage, material sourcing, building management, among other aspects. - TradeArabia News Service