After being notified by Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that it had submitted the winning financial and technical bid, the authority informed UK-based Menzies Aviation that it would not be awarding it the airport service contract.

In a bourse disclosure statement yesterday, Agility Global, which owns Menzies, revealed that the contract would have involved government royalties and rent of nearly 200 million Kuwaiti dinars ($660 million) over 10 years. 

The company had also committed to a capital investment of KWD20 million ($66 million) for new airport equipment.

"Menzies has been notified by the DGCA that it no longer intends to pursue the award of the competitively bid international ground handling concession at Kuwait International Airport," the statement read. 

"As a result, Menzies Aviation and its subsidiary NAS will conclude operations at Kuwait airport on 31 January 2026, when its existing contract expires.”

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Tuesday that the third phase of the Kuwait International Airport project has reached 88 percent completion, and that it is currently preparing to rebuild the eastern runway within 14 months.

It also stated that 11 projects are included in its plan to develop air navigation systems and three runways, according to Arab Times.

(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Sona Nambiar)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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