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

In addition, bids are being evaluated for the final package of the programme – the information communication technology (ICT) contract, said Derek Hendry, the director development for Bahrain Airport Company, in an interview with Gulf Construction.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the Bahrain International Airport Development (BIAD) Forum held at Movenpick Hotel in Bahrain last month (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, and these are scheduled for completion mid-summer this year.

The AMP involves the construction of a new 207,000-sq-m terminal which will double the annual capacity of the airport to 14 million passengers. The state-of-the-art terminal building will include a 4,600-sq-m departure hall, 104 check-in counters, 36 passport control booths and 24 security screening points.

The arrival section will have 10 customs screening points, 1,000 sq m of duty-free, eight baggage carousels and 34 passport control booths.

The AMP will have parking space to accommodate more than 7,000 vehicles, 9,000 sq m of duty-free, retail outlets, premium spas and a 2,500-sq-m lounge with open terrace.

Hendry said the new terminal was aiming for Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification, which will make it just the second airport in the region after Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah to secure the global rating.

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

According to Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) chief executive Mohammed Yousif Al Binfalah, the expansion is on track to be completed by the third quarter of 2019, as scheduled.

The project is funded by the GCC Development Fund.