JEDDAH, 18 August — The new Dawadmi airport, about 250 kms west of Riyadh, will be ready by next March, according to Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Khalaf, chief of the Presidency of Civil Aviation.
He said the presidency has already completed 35 percent of the SR141 million project. "The airport will be completed by next Muharram and then a date will be fixed for its inauguration," Khalaf told Okaz daily.
Dawadmi airport will bring the number of Saudi airports to 27 including three international airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. "The new airport has no royal terminal but has a VIP terminal," he pointed out.
The project includes lounges for arrivals and departures, offices of government departments and banks and rent-a-car and hotel counters. There are separate buildings for maintenance, electricity and water supply.
The project will have a 3,050-meter runway with a width of 45 meters and will be provided with all aviation and lighting facilities to operate round the clock. There is an apron to park four aircraft at a time.
Referring to the expansion of King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Khalaf said tenders will be called from specialized companies after finalizing the project’s design.
The project, which is expected to cost SR5.5 billion, will increase the airport’s annual capacity to 21 million passengers. The expansion work will include construction of new lounges for international and domestic passengers, development of present lounges and establishment of 25 air bridges for boarding.
In a previous press statement Khalaf had said the expansion project would be completed by 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 for pilgrims and expatriate workers. The figure is expected to hit 21 million by 2020.
