Mohammad Abid, assistant deputy president of GACA projects, explains to the new GACA President Sulaiman Al-Hamdan the first phase of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport project in Jeddah on Monday. — SG photo FATIMA MUHAMMAD SAUDI GAZETTE
JEDDAH — The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) does not have anything to do with the delay in the operation of private airlines SaudiGulf and Al-Maha Airways, according to the new GACA President Sulaiman Al-Hamdan. “There are regulations that they have to follow to get the license. We are transparent and we provide same facilities to all airlines,” Al-Hamdan told reporters on Monday after touring the new King Abdul Aziz International Airport and reviewing the progress of work. The SaudiGulf airline is expected to start operation in the fourth quarter of this year, he said. Al-Hamdan clarified that no ban has been imposed on local airlines from flying to Yemen and Libya. He announced that the new Jeddah airport will be opened for traffic by the end of this year, and attributed the delay to the changes made in the design. The new GACA chief said the operation of Saudi airports will be handed over to specialized and experienced private sector companies as is the case of Madinah airport. This strategy will soon be implemented in the Taif, Riyadh and Jeddah airports, he said. Answering a Saudi Gazette question about shifting pockets of population and industrial area around King Abdul Aziz Airport, he said populated areas will be shifted in cooperation with the governorate, and plots of land have already been alloted for this purpose. Al-Hamdan along with top GACA officials, reporters and photographers surveyed the progress of work at the airport. The tour included the international terminal, the market zone, airport hotel, metro project, commercial and operation areas. This whole area when completed will mark the first phase of King Abul Aziz International Airport, with two phases to follow later on. The first phase will increase the capacity of the Jeddah airpot to 30 million passengers a year. The second phase will increase it to 45 million, and the third phase to 80 million passengers a year. Some 110 companies are working on the project employing about 26,000 workers and engineers. The airport will have 46 gates for international flights, 49 bridges, five waiting areas (two of which for local flights, two for business class and one for transit passengers). There will be a 136-meter-high air traffic control tower, and a mosque that can accommodate 3,000 men and 700 women. The new airport will have 220 counters and 80 self-service machines. There will also be a parking area that can accommodate 8,200 cars. There will be 120 hotel rooms, along with aviation and operation services that can serve 70 airplanes at the same time. Al-Hamdan said the accommodation capacity of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh will rise to 3.5 million passengers a year after the ongoing development work. The number of gates will increase from 14 to 24. The parking area capacity will increase to accommodate 3,000 cars. One of the new projects of GACA is the Abha airport. The project will be finalized within three-and-half-year and will allow the airport to welcome five million passengers instead of the current capacity of only 2.3 million per year. Other airports that have been given to contractors for development and construction are the Arar, Yanbu, and Al-Gurayat airports. GACA projects that are still not handed to contractors are King Abudllah New Airport in Jazan, Prince Naif Airport in Qasim, as well as the Al-Jouf and Al-Baha airports.
