KHARTOUM, 16 May 2005 — Sudan is to build a new international airport costing $530 million at a site some 45 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Omdurman, near Khartoum, the official news agency SUNA reported yesterday. Aviation Minister Ali Tamim Fertak, quoted by SUNA, said the facility would cover an area of 58 square kilometers (22 square miles). Work on the first phase of the three-phase project based on designs by a German company will start in early 2006 with the construction of two runways, two passenger terminals, service utilities and administrative offices. The first phase is due to be completed in three years after which the new airport will begin operations and Khartoum’s existing facility will close, said the aviation minister.