Iran plans a $2.8 billion expansion of Tehran's main international airport and France's Bouygues SA (EN) is among companies to express interest, the local consulting company on the proposal said, Bloomberg reported Oct. 16.
"The project at hand is for a new terminal with the capacity to handle 20 million" passengers, Mohammad Kiaie, chairman and chief executive officer of Tehran-based Rah Shahr International Group, said.
A tender could take place as soon as two months from now, he added.
Diplomats from Iran and world powers are seeking an accord that may lift the sanctions imposed over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, opening a market of 75 million people to foreign companies. Aviation is among the areas most affected by the sanctions, which have left the country unable to modernize its fleet of commercial planes.
Imam Khomeini International Airport, about 40 kilometers southwest of the Iranian capital, currently has capacity for 6 million air travelers a year. Once the expansion is complete, the existing terminal will be used for domestic flights, Kiaie said.
He said companies from France, China and Malaysia have signaled interest, citing Paris-based Bouygues SA and Aeroports de Paris (ADP)'s ADPI unit. A Bouygues spokesman declined to comment, and spokesmen's phone lines at ADPI were busy.
Without the removal of sanctions, "the risk premium of the Iranian market is likely to remain too high for foreign investors," said Ali Vaez, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group.
Aircraft Needs
Businesses are already positioning themselves for that eventuality, though. Toulouse, France-based Airbus Group NV (AIR) was among about 200 companies to attend a conference in London yesterday on potential investment in Iran. Iranian business leaders were there too, and could be seen networking with western counterparts during lunch and coffee breaks.
Iran needs 300 passenger aircraft while it only has half that number in operation, Fars news agency cited Alireza Jahangirian, the head of the country's civil aviation authority, as saying this week.
The government aims to ultimately position Iran as the leading hub for cargo transportation and the second in passenger transportation in the Middle East, Kiaie said. Iran, which seeks eventually to establish a free-trade zone at Khomeini airport, could tap into increasing traffic that goes through Dubai.
The new airport terminal is due to be built in five years, though it could take longer depending on whether sanctions are eased, Kiaie said. The project could be split into two phases with the first increasing capacity by 12 million passengers, he said.