The airport was first launched in 1927–1928. Terminal 1, which currently serves all airlines (excluding Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways, who are served by Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 respectively), was designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange and opened in 1979. The airport underwent a large renovation and expansion project from 1999 to 2001, in which the former parking lot was cleared, and a terminal expansion was built. Kuwait International Airport can currently handle more than 13 million passengers a year. A new general aviation terminal was completed in 2008 under a BOT scheme and is operated by Royal Aviation. In 2011, the Department of Civil Aviation announced the intention of extending Kuwait International Airport so it can handle more passengers and more aircraft. On 3 October 2011, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced that a new Foster + Partners designed terminal would begin construction in 2012 and would increase the annual passenger handling amount to 14 million passengers in its first phase, with the option of expanding to 25 million passengers. The airport finalized formalities for the construction of the terminal, which was due to begin construction in 2012 with completion by 2016. It would be built to the south of the current terminal complex with new access routes from the Seventh Ring Road to the south of the airport compound. It is designed as a three-pointed star, with each point extending 600 meters from the star's center. Two airside hotels will form part of the new building. In December 2012, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Public Works announced that the new terminal at the Kuwait International Airport would be completed by the end of 2016, estimating the cost to be around 900 million Kuwaiti dinar ($3.2 billion). On 20 May 2013, the Director of Operations Management in the General Administration of Civil Aviation, Essam Al-Zamil, announced that some of the flights will be diverted to the Sheikh Saad Terminal instead of Kuwait Airport's main terminal starting in July due to the large number of passengers and the growing number of aircraft attributing to Kuwait Airport being over capacity. On 22 May 2018, Jazeera Airways launched its own dedicated terminal at Kuwait International Airport, to be called Terminal 5. It is located directly adjacent to and connected to the existing main building, but features dedicated arrival/departure areas, customs, and all supporting functions in order to alleviate congestion at the main building. All Jazeera arrivals will arrive at the new terminal from opening, while departing flights will transition from the current terminal between 22 and 27 May. By 27 May, all departing and arriving Jazeera flights will be handled exclusively at Terminal 5.