DUSHANBE, November 1, 2014, Asia-Plus – A new terminal at Dushanbe International Airport (DIA) will open its doors to passengers on November 3.

“During a week, French specialists will work side by side with our employees and after that the terminal will be fully handed over to DIA,” Mahamdyusuf Shodiyev, a spokesman for DIA, told Asia-Plus in an interview.

Since the terminal is provided with the state-of-the-art equipment, French specialists have conducted training for Tajik specialists during a year, Shodiyev noted.

We will recall that the terminal was officially opened at DIA on September 3, 2014.  The opening took place in the presence of President Emomali Rahmon and representatives of France’s Embassy in Dushanbe and French company, VINCI, which has been the general contractor for construction of the terminal.

To bring the Dushanbe airport up to international air traffic standards, an extension project has been launched to raise the overall space of the international terminal to 11,000 square meters with a capacity of 5,000 passengers per hour.  The project has been implemented under financial support of France which provided Tajikistan a long-term, low interest €20 million loan. Tajikistan''s own contribution is €19 million (October 2012).

VINCI Construction Grands Projets and VINCI Airports (VINCI Concessions) signed the €39m design-build contract for a new terminal at Dushanbe International Airport with the DIA (Dushanbe International Airport) company on April 27, 2012.  Responding to a need for increased capacity at the airport, the new terminal will be able to handle 1.5 million passengers a year.  It will provide top-quality services to passengers and airlines, in line with international standards.  VINCI Construction Grands Projets was reportedly charged with the design and construction of the building, as well as supplying the operating equipment and systems.  VINCI Airports, for its part, has assisted with the functional definition of the terminal (organization of flows, operational equipment and systems specifications), assisted the airport teams during the planning and works stages, training staff and assisted with the commissioning of the terminal.