Iraq has awarded a contract to develop Baghdad International airport on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis to a consortium comprising Luxembourg-based Corporacion America Airports (CAAP) and local firm Amwaj International.

According to local media reports, the estimated $764m contract covers the rehabilitation of airport infrastructure, construction of a new passenger terminal, and operations and maintenance under a 25-year concession.

In a statement on its website, the Ministry of Transport said the airport’s initial capacity is expected to be around 9 million passengers, gradually increasing to 15 million.

Iraq’s Ministry of Transport and General Company for Airports & Air Navigation Services received the bids earlier this month.

The bidding consortium included:

• Asyad Holding / Top International Engineering Corporation / Lamar Holding / YDA Insaat / Dublin Airport Authority (Saudi Arabia/Saudi Arabia/Saudi Arabia/Turkiye/Ireland)
• Corporacion America Airports / Amwaj International (Luxembourg/Iraq)
• ERG International / Terminal Yapi / ERG Insaat (UK/Turkiye/Turkiye)

The media report added that the winning consortium offered the government 43.05% of total airport revenues.

The Asyad-led consortium offered 38.05%.

The ERG International-led consortium was disqualified from the bidding process.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the project’s lead transaction adviser.