Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Wednesday oversaw the signing ceremony awarding the redevelopment and expansion of Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) to the CAAP consortium, led by Corporación América Airports (Luxembourg, Argentina) in partnership with Amwaj International of Iraq.
The project marks one of Iraq’s largest public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure initiatives to date, with an estimated investment of $764 million. According to government officials, the redevelopment will be fully financed by the consortium without direct government spending during the concession period.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) — part of the World Bank Group — acted as the government’s advisor for over two years, assisting with the tender design, qualification of international bidders, and PPP structuring for long-term airport development and operation.
Under the agreement, CAAP will construct a new passenger terminal with an initial capacity of 9 million passengers annually, expandable to 15 million in future phases. The project also includes:
- Rehabilitation of existing runways and installation of modern boarding bridges
- Construction of a new Civil Aviation Authority headquarters and VIP terminal
- Development of a multi-level car park and comprehensive service system upgrades to meet international standards
The plan further provides for training of Iraqi personnel and the creation of roughly 1,000 new jobs per additional million passengers as capacity expands.
The contract was signed by the Director General of the Ministry of Transport’s Contracts and Licensing Department on behalf of Iraq, and by the Middle East Business Development Director representing the CAAP consortium.
