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Heathrow Airport says shareholders to invest 650 million more pounds in hub

An aircraft comes in to land at Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers

LONDON (Reuters) - Shareholders in Britain's biggest airport Heathrow will invest a further 650 million pounds ($807 million) in the hub, the airport said on Thursday. The airport said in a statement Heathrow's shareholders had progressed plans to invest the money over the course of 2019. Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said that the announcement was "great news for Heathrow passengers and for Britain." Heathrow delivered a record number of passengers in 2016, and Britain in February outlined plans for a third runway, which will enhance its status as Britain's main airport. Qatar is a major shareholder in Heathrow, holding 20 percent of the unlisted airport. Earlier in the week it pledged $6 billion of investments in Britain, ahead of Britain's formal notice of its withdrawal from the European Union on Wednesday. "Our investment in Heathrow is much more than just an investment in one of the world's great airports – it's an investment in Britain's connections to the world," Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Investment Authority, said in a statement. (Reporting by Alistair Smout, editing by David Evans)