Copperchase, a UK-based contractor, has won a major contract to develop the first phase of Mid-Euphrates Airport project in central Iraq, which on completion, will have a capacity to handle 2.5 million passengers a year.

As per the deal, the company will build a runway, terminal, control tower and other facilities at a cost of between $250 million and $500 million, reported Bloomberg citing a senior Iraqi official.

The project is aimed at helping ease travel for millions of religious pilgrims who visit the Iraqi city of Karbala each year, remarked Nahidh Mohammed Salih, chairman of Copperchase's Iraqi business.

Once the first phase gets completed, the airport will have a capacity to handle 2.5 million passengers a year, he added.

Copperchase said Phase One of the airport project will be completed in 18 to 24 months. With this project, it will become easier for Shiite muslims to visit the religious cities of Karbala and nearby Najaf.

Salih said the project’s three planned phases will cost a total of $2 billion. However, work on the second and third phases will depend on demand, he added.