Foreseeing the future growth of aviation sector in State of Kuwait and considering the steady growth achieved by the industry in the past decade, the government is expected to channel over US$ 6 billion into the industry to cater travel, tourism, cargo and logistics industry.The investments in the sector aim to develop the infrastructure at Kuwait International Airport to expand its capacity to handle 20 million passengers per year and turn it into major commuter and cargo hub in the region.
The growing demand in terms of both passenger and cargo movement in Middle East provides huge opportunities in the sector.
IATA Director General Tony Tyler in his key note speech at Arab Air Carriers Organisation Annual General Meeting said, “In the 28 months since joining IATA, I have seen passenger traffic by Middle East airlines grow from 7.0 per cent of the global total to 8.4 per cent. And the growth in cargo has been even more dramatic from 9.7 per cent to 12 per cent. Next year we expect the industry to deliver a total profit of some US$ 16.4 billion. And we forecast that US$ 2.1 billion of the total will come from airlines in the Middle East—the highest ever absolute profit by the region’s airlines and positively disproportionate to their share of global traffic.”
He also commended the efforts of regional governments for investing in to the development of infrastructure to cater this tremendous growth. “With some US$ 40 billion being invested in airport infrastructure in the Gulf alone that may come as a surprise. Regardless of the model, this region is making its mark on the industry. And global standards are underpinning its successful growth,” he said.
Confirming the success Tyler mentioned in his speech, Middle East airports served as many as 253,810,113 passengers last year (ACI 2012 World Airport Traffic Report). Kuwait International Airport recorded a modest 4.9 per cent increase in 2012 by serving around 8,967,413 passengers.
The expansion at Kuwait International Airport will include construction of a new passenger terminal equipped with the latest technologies and projects for widening the runways, a new Air Traffic Control tower and setting up of a new cargo facility.
