JEDDAH, 8 February 2006 — A proposal to build a new museum in Jeddah’s old airport was approved by Mayor Adel Faqeeh yesterday. The museum will chronicle the history of the Kingdom’s aviation and will include old documents, photos and models.
The museum will be staged in the main headquarters building of the old airport near Al-Sharafiah district, according to Sami Nawwar, head of the General Administration of Tourism, Culture and Museums at the municipality. Initial studies were done and the area of the museum will be fenced soon to commence the construction.
“Unfortunately, the old control tower was demolished before the planning of the museum. It would have been more authentic if the old tower was preserved and used as part of the museum,” Nawwar said.
Eventually a new control tower would be build with the same architectural aspects of the old one, the mayor said.
The municipality is now expanding its plans for tourism development in the city. Jeddah’s historical area has a share in the municipality’s budget for development projects and preservation operations.
