Lebanon to launch tender for $70 million airport terminal

Lebanon to launch tender for $70 million airport terminal

Lebanon will soon launch an international tender for the construction of a new terminal at the country's only international airport in Beirut, caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh said Wednesday, with hopes of accommodating a projected rise in visitors.

The airport had a major facelift after the country's 1975-90 civil war, and has been working at full capacity for years as the government's expansion plans have been repeatedly delayed.

Hamieh told reporters at the airport that a tender for the $70 million project to build a second terminal at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport is being prepared. He said Terminal 2 will be for chartered and low-cost flights, as well those carrying Muslim pilgrims.

Hamie said the project will be carried out by the private sector and will create hundreds of jobs at a time when Lebanon is in the grips of its worst economic crisis in its modern history.

The airport currently handles 8 million passengers a year, and the plans are to reach 20 million in 2030, according to the website of national carrier Middle East Airlines.

The announcement was made during a visit to the airport by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati as Lebanon prepares to receive large numbers of travelers in