UPDATE 1-French firm ADP wins Iraq airport contract

* Contract worth $42.5 mln - transport minister

* Airport planned to be up and running in 3 to 5 yrs

(Adds detail)

PARIS, Nov 2 (Reuters) - French airport operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP.PA) has won a contract to work on plans for a new international airport in Iraq, a spokesman for ADP said on Monday.

Iraqi Transport Minister Amer Abdul-Jabbar said the contract was worth around $42.5 million.

He said the airport would be built between the three provinces of Kerbala, Najaf and Hilla, which are home to some of Shi'ite Islam's holiest cities. Hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims have visited them since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Abdul-Jabbar said the aim was to have the new airport up and running within three to five years, with an initial capacity of five million passengers per year and eventual capacity of 35 million per year.

By comparison, Baghdad international airport currently manages around seven million passengers a year, he said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Baghdad in February to promote business opportunities for French companies, such as oil major Total (TOTF.PA). Total is among several international oil companies hoping to win Iraqi contracts. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris and Aseel Kami in Baghdad; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) ($1 = 0.6769 euro)