Kirkuk’s long-delayed international airport inaugurated
Located in the southwest of Kirkuk, the airport is capable of receiving 3.5 million passengers annually, according to local officials.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi transportation and aviation authorities on early Sunday inaugurated the first-ever international airport in the oil-rich Kirkuk province following constant delays and sluggish progress,
Minister of Transportation Nasser Hussein al-Shibli on behalf of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and along with aviation and other local officials inaugurated the airport, a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority read. The inauguration took place in absence of media representatives.
The airport, which previously served as a military airfield, would facilitate air travel for the oil-rich province and its nearby cities in Iraq. It is expected to create 3,000 job opportunities as well, per local officials.
The construction of the airport began almost four years ago. But the over $90-million project was riddled with slow progress and delays. In one visit to the site in 2019, the Iraqi Commission of Integrity announced that only “one percent” of the project had been finished.
Located in the southwest of Kirkuk, the airport is capable of receiving 3.5 million passengers annually, according to local officials.
The idea of building an international airport in Kirkuk was firstly introduced in 1975.
In early August, Prime Minister Kadhimi laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of an international airport in Mosul.
Iraq currently has four international airports in Erbil, Baghdad, Sulaimani, and Najaf. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is studying the construction of a new international airport in Duhok province. Prime Minister Masrour Barzani last year visited the construction site.
