Airport being readied
for 20 million passengers

Urgent temporary expansion

to precede major plan

A $500 million tender for an overall expansion of the airport will be launched by the end of next year. The expansion will be conducted according to an updated master plan that will gradually raise the airport’s capacity to 20 million passengers by 2030.

The Cabinet approved two allocations, with a combined value of $88 million, to execute ‘urgent’ expansion measures at the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport.

“It has become necessary to expand the airport,” said the Minister of Public Works, Youssef Fenianos. The total number of passengers reached 8.3 million in 2017, exceeding its current capacity of six million passengers.

Omar Kaddouha Director of Flight Safety at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, said: “Works entail the expansion of the current terminal in order to add its capacity by two million passengers.”

Works will also include additional baggage conveyers, inspection machines, power generators, a flight docking system, and cooling systems.

The urgent expansion will be completed within the next nine to 12 months. It will be overseen by the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR).