Kuwait emir opens new airport terminal

Kuwait International Airport has opened a new terminal building (T4) with an aim to increase capacity to 25 million passengers by 2022. Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah launched the new terminal earlier this week.

T4, which was planned and built within two years, is a 14-gate facility which is designed to handle an extra 4.5 million passengers annually. “Passenger numbers are expected to each 40 million annually by 2037, creating annual income of no less than $800 million and about 40,000 jobs,” Sheikh Salman  Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, director general of the country’s civil aviation authority.

The new terminal, which will be used exclusively by Kuwait Airways, includes a duty free retail area and parking for 2,450 vehicles. The terminal is part of the government’s efforts to enhance Kuwait’s air transport system under the Kuwait 2035 Vision which aims to turn the country into a regional investor-friendly and trade hub.

Kuwait signed a $172.3 million contract with Korean and Kuwaiti companies to construct the terminal in 2016.