RIYADH, 25 June — The planned expansion of King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah is expected to cost SR5.5 billion ($1.5 billion), a high-level source at the Presidency for Civil Aviation told Arab News.
According to the source, the presidency has already briefed the airline companies working in the Kingdom on the project aimed at increasing the airport’s annual capacity to 21 million passengers.
The project will include construction of new lounges for international and domestic passengers, development of present lounges and establishment of 25 air bridges for the boarding of passengers.
"The project will be implemented in phases without affecting the continuous and smooth operation of the airport," the source said.
In a previous press statement Dr. Ali Al-Khalaf, head of the presidency, said the expansion project will be completed by the year 2007.
The KAIA expansion, considered one of the largest projects to be implemented by the presidency, was planned to meet the growing air traffic to and from the airport.
Last year 13 million passengers used the airport, the main gateway of pilgrims and expatriate workers. The figure is expected to hit 21 million by 2020.
The presidency is now constructing two new airports, the source said, adding that it was planning to establish five more airports in various parts of the country.
Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, signed two contracts recently with two national companies to build a new airport in Dawadmi and expand the Jizan airport.
