The General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia is currently viewing the preliminary designs of the master plan for the King Abdul Aziz International Airport development and upgrade project at Jeddah, to be built at an estimated cost of SR4 billion ($1.06 billion).
“The design of the master plan of the airport has been awarded to a specialised international company, which has already submitted a layout plan that is considered to be ideal for the airport lot.” says a spokesman for GACA. A preliminary plan for the travel lounges and terminals is also ready.
The GACA has invited six international experts in the design and planning of airports from Holland, Britain, Singapore and other countries, which have also submitted their views on the proposed design of the new site and the terminal complex.
Eight specialised international companies have been invited to bid for the job of the management and supervision of all phases of implementation of the entire project.
The new King Abdul Aziz International Airport is billed to have a total capacity of 30 million passengers by the end of 2010 in the first phase of the development and up to 80 to 100 million passengers annually in subsequent phases. It will also have the capacity to accommodate the new wide-bodied aircraft such as the A380.
The project will come up on the same site of the existing airport and will consist of terminal complexes for both domestic and international departure and arrivals.
The project will also involve a complete makeover of the entire aviation facilities, including corridors, runways, aircraft parks, aprons, and support facilities. To speed up the project, design work on a major section of the project that has been segregated, will be started sooner than the new terminal designs.
The GACA has also created a special department known as the King Abdul Aziz International Airport Development and Upgrade Project Management team whose duties will include following up on all the steps of the upgrade project to accelerate the implementation of the development.
