Yesterday I was given a tour of the new Kuwait T2 airport terminal, which is a candidate to get a LEED green building certificate. LEED is a certificate that is awarded to buildings whose construction and design incorporate sustainability methods.
I was first given a tour of the outside of the terminal before making our way inside. Usually, the renderings look better than the final result but I think in this case, it’s the other way around. I don’t think the renderings do the building material and color justice, it’s much more impressive in person. Also, seeing the multiple arches from various angles and noticing how they layer in some areas creates a visually stunning experience that you need to see in person to appreciate.
The airport is huge and not just when compared to our existing airports, it’s proper international standard airport huge. From what I could tell the airport structure had been completed and the majority of the work I saw taking place was at the aircraft gates, the parking lot area, and the large bridge that will take the cars up to the arrival area. I wasn’t given a completion date but according to previous articles published, the deadline for completion is later this year.
One thing that caught my attention while walking around the construction site was how clean it was. That’s part of the requirements in the construction phase when you’re aiming for a LEED certificate, they have a dedicated crew whose job is to go around the site cleaning it up and recycling as much of the waste possible. Right now 86% of the collected waste is recycled which is extremely impressive. Obtaining a LEED certificate involves more than just recycling waste. For example, they sealed off AC ducts during construction to prevent dust from entering and compromising air quality once the airport is operational. We won’t even get a “new paint smell” when the airport opens because they’re controlling the kind of chemicals used inside the paint. It’s a legit operation.
After walking around the airport yesterday and imagining how it’s going to look once it’s completed, I can’t wait for it to open up. It’s the airport we’ve always wanted, I just hope by then we get Smart Gates for passport control.
42 replies on “Inside the New Kuwait T2 Airport Terminal”
This is very exciting, I just hope it is not managed by the same crew of incompetents running T1 and T4.
T4 is managed by Incheon Airports, and they seem to be managing it quite well
Yes but the officers are still incompetent
Solution = smart gates
Words smart & kuwait dont go together
Hope this big airport is one of the stepping stones in increasing tourism in the country.
The airport itself will be a tourism spot lol, everything outside of it is disappointing.
Hahahahahahahahha……wait wait wait…..Hahahahahahah…buhahahahahahahha…..
Unfortunately this is so true….
Yes it’s true that we don’t have tourism spot in kuwait but still I love Kuwait it’s my country it’s safer than many countries and we are happy that everyone has food and shelter in this country
Very very true. I am Indian born and bought up here thus it is my country too – it has taken care of my parents, us and our kids too. May Allah (SWT) bless Kuwait, its people and leaders.
Facts
unless you have family or a business reason or are eligible for e-visa/visa-on-arrival, you can’t even get visa since you need a sponsor.
Its very impressive
Kuwait really needs this airport,
It will open up a lot of new opportunities.
Love this focus on sustainability! I hope it kicks off more consciousness about waste and recycling in Kuwait.
I don’t know where to start or what to say, so I might keep my mouth shut. I just hope that this project will be taken care of & it’s utilization would be responsibly reflecting the standards it was constructed for.
This country seriously deserves the best yet it takes the best to know what is best!
When it comes to facilities here, I am not concerned about the design and construction but always concerned about on how they operate and maintain
We’ll get the LEED but what we are in dire need of is a SMILE 😊 … the one you normally get at airports around the world
Agreed. Actually when traveling in December, an officer at Immigration Control in T4 was jovial, smiled and also interacted with my kids which was not the case when I returned. Upon arrival at the terminal by bus I was diverted to a counter where no officer was present and the guy who diverted me to the counter, himself came after a couple of minutes and asked for our passports rudely, took them and threw them on his desk and started checking them one by one. Stark contrast!
Similar situation here, last year arriving at T4 was great, the officers were really nice and helpful and the immigration process took 2 minutes. A couple months ago I arrived at T4 and at the immigration section I had to go up to 4 different officers, each barking at me to go elsewhere, finally I was sent to some other counter where they just sent me back to one of the first officers. It was a s***show.
Always wondered why do they bark so much?
Are they trying to hide their insecurities by being rude?
Never understood why they do it.
You are asking too much! LEED is sufficient, SMILE in an another life or another country. Yalla.
Kuwait airways is currently managing T4 after Korean Incheon contract was not renewed, New Terminal will be managed by Kuwait airways, T2 will support E-Gates.
Incheon contract period has not ended yet.
Hatsoff to Limak Holding. They are the ones behind the construction of this terminal.
And Gulf Consult, the local consulting firm!! Woohooo
Within one week of opening… every wall is covered in advertising and 500 bukhoor kiosks pop up.
It’s a $4.3 billion project airport. This excludes the highway leading up to the airport, parking structures, runways, traffic control tower, underground wet and dry service infrastructure, fueling structures.
Finally……
Any airport is only as good as its terminal operators.
If they can just get the Dubai government or DNATA to run it for them will be a win win situation for everyone.
Having multiple dedicated airline lounges will be a first and a definite game changer for KWI International.
The deadline for completion is later this year…?
Only if you have a time machine. Expect 2026-2027 at the earliest.
Construction completion not airport open and running.
Agreed, No way it will open this year.
NOBODY said it was going to open this year, not me, not the government, not the contractors, like no one has said that so you’re just stating the obvious.
Let’s hope it can handle the rain.
Do they know what will happen to Terminal 4 once Terminal 2 is in operation? Terminal 4 was built as a temporary capacity measure after all so we can expect all KU operations to relocate right?
probably gets taken by jazeera, t1 probably turned into a low budget airline airport as well
Well, I hope they maintain the sustainability approach even after receiving the LEED certificate
I hope they decide not to weed out subcontinental flights and dump them in one of the existing shitty terminals. Having a dedicated terminal for no frills carriers is one thing but to divert all flights to India and the rest of the subcontinent in one of the other terminals will be both an abomination as well as a quintessentially Kuwait thing to do. It won’t leave us surprised.
If Avenues and 360 could talk right now they’d prolly say good riddance! to the existing Kwt airport. A city with top notch shopping attractions as these is deserving of an elegant world class airport.
i dont think this would happen. think about it. they would have to transport people between the other terminal and the new terminal if a person is transfering from a flight from US / Europe to the subcontinent. Kuwait Airways is quite cheap and i know several indians in UK and US who use it to go to India. I can’t imagine the logistical nightmare of using buses to transport such transit passenger.
i dont think this would happen. think about it. they would have to transport people between the other terminal and the new terminal if a person is transfering from a flight from US / Europe to the subcontinent. Kuwait Airways is quite cheap and i know several indians in UK and US who use it to go to India. I can’t imagine the logistical nightmare of using buses to transport such transit passenger.
For KWI International to earn its place as a regional transit hub, they must jettison their hang ups about South East Asian ‘Ajnabis’ and their fixation over ‘Jinsiya’. It’s either now or never. Early indications are it will continue to play second fiddle to Doha and Dubai airports rather than holding its own. Of course, a lot will depend on which way is Kuwait Airways going. Can it hold a candle to other powerful regional legacy carriers ? Only time will tell.
for example, all GCC countries except Kuwait now allows Indian citizens to enter without arranging a sponsor and you can check the websites easily for information to get the same (or worst case scenario go to the airline (Emirates, Qatar Airways, etc) and ask them to arrange a visa).
Kuwait requires everyone to have a sponsor if ineligible for the VOA/e-visa. And obviously a tourist or passenger staying for a few days would not have a local point of contact.
Emirates and Qatar Airways actually attracted people into their countries by initiating a sort of program where people could stay over a few days before heading to their final destination and hence why they helped with visas.