New Jeddah airport to begin operations in 2014
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The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviati
on (GACA) has completed 25% of the New King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and is on track to begin first phase of operations at the airport in 2014, as reported in Zawya.
Development of the new airport will continue over two more phases until 2035, when it is expected to acquire the capacity to handle 70 to 80 million passengers per year, after a total spend of about US$ 11.4 billion, said Eng. Mohamed Ahmed Abed, director general of the King Abdulaziz International Airport and general supervisor of the project.
The first phase of the project includes a passenger terminal with a capacity of 30 million passengers per annum, with the capability to operate as both a domestic and an international hub.
It also includes a transportation center and a railway station to accommodate the new high-speed rail service now under construction, serving Makkah and Madinah. The entire suite of support infrastructure – an air traffic control complex and tower; systems and equipment; taxiways; airside and landside road networks; utilities networks; and service and support buildings – will also be ready by 2014, Eng. Abed said.
The first phase of the cargo village and airport city developments, driven by private sector investment, is also expected to be delivered by 2014.
