3 contracts awarded to develop Saudi airports

Three contracts worth US $154 million (SAR579 million) were signed by Crown Prince Sultan, deputy prime minister and minister of defense and aviation, with two major companies, Fraport AG of Germany and Singapore’s Changi Airports International, Pte Ltd., to manage and develop the Kingdom’s three international airports.

Jeddah-based King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) and the Riyadh-based King Khalid International Airport will be operated by Fraport Matthias Zieschang, member of the Fraport AG executive board, signed the Fraport deals worth SAR216 million for the Jeddah airport and SAR201 million for the airport in Riyadh.

Currently, the KAA airport in Jeddah can accommodate 15 million passengers. Once the expansion project is completed, the airport in Jeddah, which occupies an area of 105 sq km, will be able to accommodate a total of 80 million passengers per year. The expansion project costs approximately SAR18 billion. It will also facilitate the airport to receive large jumbo jets, including the A380s.

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The expansion of the Jeddah airport involves the construction of two new terminals and renovation of the existing south terminal and a new concourse with 25 gates.

Changi will operate the Dhahran-based King Fahd Airport (KFA). Lim Chin Beng, chairman of Changi Ltd, inked the SAR216 million deal for the Dammam airport.

The contract signed was for six years. During this period, the two companies will invest their technical know-how to develop the existing facilities and qualities of services.

Both the companies will be responsible for daily operations and for leading several projects during the six-year contract period. However, the main focal point will be on developing the three international airports and improving services, as well as on maximizing sustainable traffic growth.

Abdullah M. Al-Ruhaimy, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), called on the government agencies and the foreign partner companies operating in aviation sector to work hard to make the Kingdom a world leader in aviation sector.