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Thursday, October 18, 2012

New KAIA Terminal expected to open at end of 2014

The new terminal currently under construction at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah is expected to be operational in the last quarter of 2014, according to the Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA).

Prince Fahd Bin Abdullah, president of GACA, told Saudi Gazette that 31% of the work on the new airport terminal, which will have a capacity of 30 million passengers annually, has been completed.
The airport’s North Terminal, which currently serves foreign airlines, will close following the completion of the project, while the South Terminal, currently used by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Nasair, will be transformed into a cargo hub. GACA also said that the North Terminal would be considered for the extension of the Haj Terminal.

Mohammad Aabed, the KAIA project supervisor, said all foreign flights would be diverted to the airports’ new terminal currently under construction. The new airport is being built on a 105 km² area, and its total capacity will reach 80 million passengers after the completion of the third phase in 2035. The total terminal area will be 670,000m².

The new terminal will serve both Saudia and foreign carriers with the international gates accessible by an automated passengers transport system. The departure lounge will have 200 check-in counters, in addition to 80 self-service counters, 46 departure gates and waiting lounges, a hotel and a modern shopping area.

The project also includes an expressway connecting Al-Haramain Expressway to Madinah Road, and crossing with Prince Majed Road, which will be the main access road to the airport. The Haramain High Speed Railway will have a stop at the airport.

The project will have the world’s tallest control tower, which currently stands at of 46 metres. A 7km service tunnel will link all utility projects, including three power plants and three information centres.
The airport will also include an automated train will transfer passengers across the 700-metre distance between the terminals and boarding gates.

The construction of the new airport will cost a total of $7.2bn (SAR 27bn), with around 20,000 tonnes of steel has been used in the construction of the airport’s roof.

Statistics released by GACA show that 22.9 million passengers used Jeddah airport in 2011, compared with 19.9 million in 2010, which accounts for more than 42% of a total 54 million air passengers in the Kingdom.

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