JEDDAH, 5 November 2005 — Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, will open the College of Technology in Tabuk and lay the foundation stone for King Fahd Specialist Hospital in the northwestern city during the next two days, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.
Prince Sultan will also lay the foundation for the expansion of Tabuk regional airport, SPA said, adding the project would include new arrival and departure lounges.
Tabuk Governor Prince Fahd ibn Sultan expressed his happiness over the crown prince’s visit to the region and said it would witness the launch of a number of projects including a higher technical institute for girls.
The College of Technology, which comprises of 18 buildings including classrooms, workshops, a mosque and administrative offices, was established at a cost of SR67 million. It can accommodate 3,000 students, the agency said.
The first phase of the 500-bed hospital project will be carried out at a cost of SR170 million. The hospital, with advanced specialty clinics will be spread over an area of 270,000 square meters.
The new airport is designed to serve passengers for several years to come. “There has been considerable growth in the number of passengers” served by the airport in recent years, said Abdullah Ruhaimy, chairman of the Civil Aviation Corporation. He put the growth rate at 4.5 percent.
The project will increase the airport’s present area of 33,779 square meters by 12,000 square meters, Ruhaimy said, adding that the new airport would have jet bridges to link the passengers from the gate to the plane. There will be additional parking facilities for two large aircraft and three medium aircraft. The airport’s car parking will have space for 900 vehicles. The airport currently serves 60 domestic flights daily.
