Business & Money | Tuesday 1 December, 2015 4:55 am |

The new upgraded King Abdulaziz International Airport will start experimental operation in the last quarter of 2017, according to Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah and advisor of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

The giant project, which will have world-class facilities, will be a major architectural and cultural landmark of Jeddah for all pilgrims and visitors arriving at the gateway of the two holy mosques, the emir said while making an inspection tour of the airport project site on Monday.

Jeddah Governor Prince Mishal Bin Majed, several senior officials of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), and the project contractor also accompanied him, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Prince Khaled said the first phase of the project will be completed by the end of 2016 and will start receiving flights in the last quarter of 2017.

“The airport will take us from the third world to the first world in terms of the high tech facilities and services. The new airport will be a matter of pride for the people of Saudi Arabia in general and the people of Jeddah and the new generations in particular,” Prince Khaled said, adding, around 86 percent of basic infrastructure works for the passengers’ terminal, support facilities, roads and bridges have been completed.

Meanwhile, GACA has invited bids from specialized international companies for the new airport’s operation. The procedures for awarding the project will be completed by the middle of 2016, GACA sources said. More than 26,000 engineers and workers belonging to 110 companies, with around 2,600 pieces of equipment, are racing against time to complete the first phase of the project.

With the completion of the first phase, the airport has the capacity to handle 30 million passengers. The first phase facilities include a terminal complex over 720,000 square meters, allowing all airlines to operate under one roof; 46 gates for international and domestic flights; and 94 air bridges to serve aircraft of different sizes.