Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) and the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) signed a contract for a state-of-the-art baggage handling system and new security screening equipment at the recent Bahrain International Airshow, said a report.

Under the BD11.6 million ($30.9 million) agreement with Vanderlande Industries, the baggage handling systems global leader will design, manufacture and install an automated baggage sortation system capable of processing 4,700 bags per hour, an early bag store with capacity for at least 600 bags and eight reclaim belts, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

Moreover, L3 Communications will provide screening equipment for the new terminal at BIA that will facilitate a fast and secure one process. The agreeement with L3 Communications was valued at BD11.2 million ($29.7 million).

The agreements come as part of a major airport overhaul which is set to elevate the infrastructure and services of Bahrain International Airport (BIA). Once completed, it is expected to increase the airport’s capacity to 14 million passengers a year.

Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications and Mohamed Yousif AlBinfalah, chief executive officer of Bahrain Airport Company, were present during the signing ceremony with and Govert Hamers, CEO of Vanderlande Industries, and Ziad Safi, sales director-EMEA of L3 Communications.

The projects are expected to be complete by Q2 2019 to coincide with the opening of the first phase of the new passenger terminal building, the report said.