Iraq invites private companies to operate Baghdad airport
The Peninsula
Baghdad: Iraqi authorities called on international private sector companies to bid for the expansion and operation of Baghdad s international airport...
Baghdad: Iraqi authorities called on international private sector companies to bid for the expansion and operation of Baghdad's international airport after years of neglect in the conflict-scarred country.
In September, the government signed an agreement with the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) to invite private companies to upgrade Iraq's main airport.
Iraq "is launching a two-stage public tender to select a private partner to rehabilitate, expand, finance, operate, and maintain Baghdad International Airport under a long-term Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contract," according to the official document calling for bidders and seen by AFP Tuesday.
It is the "first time that the Iraqi government, in cooperation with the IFC, opens its airports to private international investment," Farhad Alaaldin, the prime minister's foreign affairs adviser, told AFP.
It is "a step that will elevate the aviation sector to international standards", he added.