PHOTOS: Reconstruction efforts ongoing at Mosul airport

Kurdistan 24 2023/02/26 10:39

An aerial picture shows reconstruction works underway at the airport of Iraq's city of Mosul, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo: Zaid Al-Obeidi/AFP)

The airport, serving as a military airfield in the 1970s and later as a base for the US-led occupation in Iraq, was seriously damaged during the three-year war against ISIS.

Iraq Mosul International Airport Iraq Airports ADP Ingénierie

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Six months after the former Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi announced the renovation project of Mosul International Airport, work is still ongoing.

Shovel loaders, compactors, and construction workers in orange and green vests can be seen on the under-the-construction airport runway close to the Tigris river, photos shared by AFP show.

The airport, serving as a military airfield in the 1970s and later as a base for the US-led occupation in Iraq, was seriously damaged during the three-year war against the so-called Islamic State, which turned the ancient city into its self-proclaimed caliphate.

A worker in green vest is pictured on the under-the-construction runway of Mosul International Airport, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo: Zaid Al-Obeidi/AFP)

Financed by international donors, the Iraqi government contracted a French engineering company, ADP Ingénierie, to undertake the renovation process.

Once fully completed and operational, the international airport is going to provide "many opportunities" for the city and its surrounding areas, the former premier said in the ceremony in August last year.

Iraq eyes expanding its airport network in recent years.

In October last year, the Kirkuk International Airport was inaugurated following many delays, increasing the number of international airports to three in the northern region.

An aerial picture shows the under-the-construction runway at the Mosul International Airport, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo: Zaid Al-Obeidi/AFP)