Another Airport in Irbil?

[Gudea]

There's at least one optimist in Iraq these days.

The Kurds are building a new $300 million airport in Irbil that will take the biggest aircraft in the world, including the Russian Antonov 225 cargo plane and the American C-5 Galaxy, which is so big that the Wright brothers could have made their entire flight within its cargo bay.

The Kurds are hoping their dramatic mountain region, the one tranquil part of Iraq, will become a tourist haven as well as a transit refueling stop for international carriers between Europe and Asia or Australia.

But Kurdistan Regional Government Civil Aviation Director Zaid Zwain hopes the airport, scheduled for completion next year, will intrigue another potential customer: NASA.

When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's military aircraft developed technical problems in Irbil last week, Zwain took advantage of the two-hour delay to tell U.S. officials and journalists about his goal of becoming a backup landing strip for NASA shuttles for emergency landings.

The runway will be about three miles long--just a bit longer than the length required by the space shuttle, he told members of the U.S. delegation. ``If you have any trouble,'' Zwain offered, ``you can land here free of charge.''

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=3 ... y=24#index

[dyaoko]

the biggest in the world ? are you joking me ? It cant be build unless kurdistan grow ENOUGH for it , a child cant eat an adult's food , can it ?

[Gudea]

the biggest in the world ? are you joking me ? It cant be build unless kurdistan grow ENOUGH for it , a child cant eat an adult's food , can it ?

I think KRG officials are smart politicians.

[freedom+unity]

this is great news for kurdish development

[Piling]

Good thing because one of the key of independance for Kurdistan is trade by cargo to avoid embargo from their neighbours. I think that KRG has seen it also.