Weeks before annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia has opened a new international airport built at a cost of $1.2 billion and a passenger capacity of eight million a year in Medina, second holiest city of Islam.
Saudi King Salman officially opened the majestic Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz International Airport which is the country’s first airport constructed and operated entirely by the private sector. Phase one of the airport, spanning a total area of four million square meters, will allow for a passenger handling capacity of eight million a year, which will increase to 18 million and over 40 million passengers per annum in phase two and phase three respectively.
The ownership of the airport is with General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) which also oversees the operations of the Kingdom’s 27 existing airports. “The government is drawing up several efforts to increase its non-oil revenues and GACA is a leading contributor to these economic diversification efforts, driving the civil aviation industry’s growth through expansion, infra development and privatisation,” said Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, President of GACA.