Kuwait's Public Works Minister Ali al-Omair Monday signed a $4.4 billion (3.9 billion-euro) contract with Turkish firm Limak Construction for a new airport terminal that will more than triple passenger capacity.

The new terminal, due to be completed in six years, will raise capacity at Kuwait's only airport to 25 million passengers annually from around seven million now, the minister said.

It will accommodate all aircraft types at 51 gates, an addition of 30 new gates, and will be able to serve 21 Airbus 380 superjumbos simultaneously, Omair said.

The project has been repeatedly delayed because of claims of highly inflated costs and after technical and financial objections by state accounting watchdog the Audit Bureau.

The oil-rich Gulf state's cabinet intervened in the row between the public works ministry and the Audit Bureau two weeks ago and gave the go-ahead for the project to proceed.

Limak will also provide repair and maintenance services for the new terminal two years after its completion.

The project has been the largest tender secured by a Turkish construction company abroad in one package.

Limak İnşaat built and operated the new terminal building in Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport as well as the terminal at Kosovo's Pristina Airport. Currently, it is constructing the second terminal in Egypt's Cairo Airport. Additionally, the company won a tender to build a new terminal building at Russia's Rostov Airport and is taking part in the consortium that is constructing and will operate Istanbul's third airport, which is under construction and poised to be the largest airport in the world.

The architectural design of the project has been undertaken by British architectural company Foster & Partner, and it is expected that around 5,000 people will be employed during the construction process.