Fatima Muhammad

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Over half of the first phase of the new King Abdulaziz International Airport project has been finalized, said Prince Fahd Bin Abdullah, head of the General Authority for Civil Aviation. Remaining work on this phase will be finalized by the end of 2014.



The new airport will be ready by 2014 to welcome 30 million passengers each year. The second phase will increase the number of passengers to 43 million by 2025, while the third phase will increase capacity to 80 million by 2035.



At the completion of the first phase, the private sector will be given a chance to invest in the airport, said the GACA president. The airport will generate over SR30 billion by 2018.



The existing south terminal is to be turned into cargo areas for private operators; it will also be used by GACA.



Asked about the privatization of airports, Prince Fahd  explained that it will be carried out gradually in the Kingdom and will start at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, then King Abdulaziz Airport and then other airports. “We hope that this will help advance the services provided to passengers at airports and present a good image of the Kingdom,” added the prince.



The prince spoke to journalists during a tour around the new airport project organized by GACA.



The tour revealed planned infrastructure work for the monitoring and control center, airplane field, car parking lots and to extend the control tower from 110 meters to 136 meters, making it the tallest in the world.



The work also includes maintenance, construction of the halls and mosques that can welcome 3,000 people as well as flood and sewage disposal projects.



GACA, in cooperation with the Jeddah governorate and traffic department, will construct a new highway that will link the Al-Haramain Expressway with Madinah Road.