BEIRUT, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Rafic Hariri International Airport (RHIA) in Lebanon's capital Beirut is in need of 100 million U.S. dollars for renovation and expansion, said Lebanese Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos on Thursday.
"Ever since the creation of this airport, we have not been capable of changing any of its equipment," the minister was quoted by the National News Agency as saying at a press conference.
Fenianos also vowed to ensure the full transparency of all the potential tenders submitted for the renovation and expansion of the airport.
Earlier this year, Lebanese Finance Ministry approved 18 million dollars in funding for the expansion of RHIA.
The funding came following a steady increase in the passenger number at the airport since 2008, according to a study released by the airport's Research and Studies Department in March 2018.
The study predicted that as many as 10 million passengers would travel via the RHIA by 2020 while the airport has the capacity of hosting only 6 million passengers annually.
The number of passengers at the airport in August has reached 1.2 million.
