Iraq will reopen its Baghdad and Basra airports to regular commercial flights in July, the director of Iraqi Civil Aviation said here Tuesday.

"We plan to reopen Baghdad and Basra airports for civilian use at the beginning of July as part of a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate all Iraqi airports and reopen them," Fakher Faraj Mohammed said in an interview with local media.

There are also plans to reopen Mosul airport, develop airports in Kirkuk and Arbil, and build a new modern airport for the Shiitereligious city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, in light of the increasing numbers of visitors there, he added.

Mohammed indicated that the plan, aimed at creating a modern network of airports in the country, would take no longer than two years.

The Baghdad International Airport is currently being used for receiving humanitarian goods, mail delivery and other emergency services.

Mohammed was in Kuwait to attend a conference of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which aims to discuss helping Iraq reopen its air space to international civil aviation.

Source: Xinhua