DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - Kuwait has awarded Turkey's Limak Group and its local agent, Kharafi National, a contract to build a new airport terminal at a cost of 1.31 billion dinars ($4.34 billion), the Public Works Minister Ali al-Omair said on Monday.

The minister told a news conference that the project will be completed over six years and will raise the capacity of the airport to 25 million passengers from a current five million passengers.

Omair said the project was "one of the biggest projects" under the current government development plan.

"It has been long delayed but we reached the first step," he told a news conference.



($1 = 0.3021 Kuwaiti dinars)

(Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy, writing by Sami Aboudi, editing by William Maclean) ((william.maclean@thomsonreuters.com ; +97143664253; Reuters Messaging: william.maclean.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net: Twitter: @WMacleanR))