RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Air Navigation Services Co. has announced the launch of a new firm in a bid to drive up efficiency in the Kingdom’s aviation sector.
The company, called Nera, will implement and manage projects in the field of civil aviation and air navigation in Saudi Arabia.
According to the new firm’s official Twitter account, Nera will be “an innovative and technological solutions company that will lead the future of aviation in the Middle East and around the world by providing technical and operational solutions to improve efficiency, while complying with international safety standards.”
“Nera will provide many services in acquiring, defining and outlining the technical specifications and requirements for the automation and CNS systems as well as monitoring the entire installation process,” it added.
This comes as Saudi Arabia earlier this month announced a $37 billion deal with US firm Boeing which will see the company manufacture up to 121 aircraft to help get the Kingdom's new airline off the ground.
The deal will see Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes with General Electric engines delivered to Saudi Arabia, with 72 of them set for Riyadh Air – the carrier announced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The aviation sector, rebounding now after the pandemic, will deliver SR280 billion ($75 billion) to Saudi Arabia’s national gross domestic product by 2030, said Faisal Al-Ibrahim, minister of economy in May of last year.
While speaking at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh on May 10, the minister noted that the pandemic resulted in a loss of $52 billion to the aviation sector.
The minister added that Saudi Arabia is aiming to host 330 million passengers by 2030.
Al-Ibrahim also revealed that Jeddah to Cairo was the busiest route in terms of international flights, while Riyadh to Jeddah was the busiest domestic route.
The Kingdom’s growth in the aviation sector is expected to be an essential catalyst for the growth of the entire Gulf Cooperation Council’s tourism market.
That was the message of Paul Griffiths, the CEO of Dubai Airports, during an interview on the Arab News talk show Frankly Speaking.
Griffiths, who has been a key figure in the transformation of Dubai airport into the world’s busiest by international passenger numbers, said: “I think a lot of people will be expecting me to say, ‘Well, Saudi Arabia is going to be a competitor’. Actually, the Saudi market is incredibly important for Dubai.”
Similar sentiments were expressed at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos a week prior.
Taking part in a panel discussion on “Saudi outlook,” Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi investment minister, said: “A rising tide lifts all boats. Regional integration is more important to the smaller but very important economies next to us than it is to Saudi Arabia."
He added, “So, I believe the Kingdom’s rise in its economic and competitive performance actually helps their competitiveness. It allows companies and enterprises and the governments of those countries to integrate with the larger global economy in Saudi Arabia.”
